Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
No US Commitment To Replace Russian RD-180 Rocket Engine, Yet
http://breakingdefense.com/2014/08/no-us-commitment-to-russian-rd-180-rocket-engine-yet/
No US Commitment To Replace Russian RD-180 Rocket Engine, Yet
By Colin Clark on August 27, 2014 at 6:40 PM
WASHINGTON: When the Air Force issued a Request for Information about an engine to replace the RD-180 it began to look as if they were serious about committing to build the first new rocket engine in decades.
But we also received two new RD-180 engines from Russia the same day as the RFI went out, the United Launch Alliance announced. That bolstered those who argue that Russia needs the revenue so much and is so committed to space cooperation that our sanctions against Russia to punish them for Ukraine will not stop the flow of the cheap, highly reliable engines. Three more engines are due to arrive this fall, and I’m betting they arrive.
Just to make sure the Air Force or OSD hadn’t snuck something past us, I checked to see if any policy decisions had been made or memos approved to allow spending for a new engine.
Here are the responses to my questions about whether a policy decision has been made to proceed with a new engine or to create a budget line to find one from Maj. Eric Badger, Air Force spokesman: