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	GAO Changes Tune About Lockheed Protest By Kenneth Silber Staff Writer posted: 05:38 pm ET 28 September 1999

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The General Accounting Office (GAO) on Tuesday refused to acknowledge whether or not Lockheed Martin had filed an appeal contesting the award of a major spy satellite contract to rival Boeing. David Ashen, an attorney at GAO, told space.com that he could not "confirm or deny" the existence of such an appeal.

Lockheed Martin spokesman Jeff Adams, reached on Monday, also declined to acknowledge the action. "We are not providing any comment," he said.

Ashen's statement contrasted with a comment made to space.com on Friday by GAO spokeswoman Laura Kopelson, who confirmed that such an appeal had been filed. "We expect it to be assigned to an attorney by Tuesday, at which time I'd be glad to put you in touch with that person," Kopelson said then.

Kopelson also initially gave space.com a case number for the Lockheed protest, and suggested we follow the case on GAO's web site, which includes a "bid protests" section. However, no case with that number has appeared on the site.

GAO, an investigative arm of Congress, provides a forum for companies that believe a federal contract was awarded to a competitor in violation of federal laws or regulations.

Earlier this month, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) announced it had awarded a multi-year contract to Boeing to develop "the nation's next generation of imagery reconnaissance satellites." Almost everything about the contract -- including its dollar value, and the number of satellites -- is classified. The decision was widely seen as a major blow to Lockheed Martin, a longtime leader in spy satellites.

Reached again on Tuesday, Kopelson, the GAO spokeswoman, said that Ashen was the agency attorney assigned to the case. However, before transfering a space.com reporter to Ashen's telephone line, she correctly predicted he would provide little information. She noted that the appeal involves "NRO" and "classified" information.

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