This looks like it’s going to be a tough team to beat:

ATK Launch Systems, Lockheed Martin Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have formed Team Ares and said they will bid to develop the upper stage of the Ares I rocket.

On top of their loss of the CEV contract, and in the wake of Lockheed Martin’s aggressive marketing of the Atlas V, this will be another blow to Boeing’s human spaceflight business prospects if they can’t win (or decide not to bid) the Ares upper stage. And this one can be chalked up to the fact that they decided they didn’t want to own Rocketdyne any more. That decision to sell it to Pratt a couple years ago isn’t looking so smart now.