Entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO of the spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, said Friday that his company would file a lawsuit to protest a satellite launch contract the Air Force awarded to a joint Lockheed Martin and Boeing venture.

Earlier this year, the Air Force awarded a lucrative contract to the joint venture, United Launch Alliance, which SpaceX believes it should be allowed to compete for. The contract is for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program, which ensures that the U.S. government is able to launch payloads into space. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the program will cost between $3 billion and $3.5 billion a year.