McCarthy Introduces Legislation to Reinstate Ban on Russian Rocket Engines “Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy introduced legislation to reinstate congressionally imposed restrictions on the purchase of RD-180 rocket engines (Russian rocket engines) for military space launches. This bill repeals language from the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that not only allows for the unlimited purchase of Russian rocket engines, but also undermines months of transparent debate and bipartisan policy the […]

Is there a new reusable age around the corner? Sober analysis says no. https://t.co/k6OXJszMLB — George Sowers (@george_sowers) January 2, 2016 Keith’s note: Now that Sen. Shelby has used his Dark Side powers to enable ULA’s addiction to Russian engines to continue, ULA is off using its staff to sow seeds of anti-reusable technology such as that being promoted by SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. This slow motion desperation […]

Spending Bill Lifts RD-180 Ban, Puts ULA Back in Competitive Game, SpaceNews “A massive U.S. government spending bill, released by lawmakers Dec. 16, effectively lifts a ban on the Russian rocket engine that powers United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket at least until Oct. 1, re-energizing competition for Defense Department launch contracts between ULA and SpaceX. The new language, included in the omnibus spending bill for 2016, says “that notwithstanding […]

Pentagon denies ULA waiver on Russian engines, Washington Post “The Pentagon announced Friday that it would not grant the United Launch Alliance a waiver allowing it to bypass a congressional ban on Russian-made engines that the company has said it desperately needs to compete in the multibillion-dollar national security launch market. ULA, the joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing that had a monopoly on national security satellite launches for […]

ULA needs relief on Russian engines before GPS launch bid -CEO, Reuters “United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, on Friday said it cannot bid in a U.S. Air Force competition to launch a GPS satellite unless it gets some relief from a ban on use of Russian rocket engines. ULA Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno told reporters in Cape Canaveral, Florida, that the company was […]

Shelton Versus McCain on Import of SpaceX Failure, SpacePolicyOnline “Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and Gen. William Shelton (Ret.) view the June 28 SpaceX launch failure very differently. In a McCain statement and a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Shelton, the two take opposite positions on what should be learned from the failure in terms of national security space launches and how long […]

Tory Bruno, ULA Rob Meyerson, Blue Origin Julie Van Kleeck, Aerojet Rocketdyne Frank Culbertson, Orbital ATK Katrina McFarland, DoD John Hyten, USAF Space Command Jeffrey Thornburg, SpaceX Samuel Greaves, USAF Space and Missiles Systems Center Michael Griffin, himself

Senate Passes FY2016 Defense Authorization, But Blocked on Defense Appropriations, Space Policy Online “The Air Force is trying to convince Congress to give it a few more years to make the transition, arguing that it needs more time to develop, test and certify a new launch system (of which an engine is part). It wants an extension to 2022. The House-passed FY2016 NDAA provides that flexibility, but the Senate bill […]

Lockheed says rocket launch venture hinges on U.S. law waiver “Lockheed Martin Corp issued a warning on Sunday over the viability of its rocket launch joint venture with Boeing Co, saying the venture urgently needed the United States to waive a law banning the use of Russian engines to launch military and spy satellites. Rick Ambrose, who heads Lockheed’s space business, told Reuters in an interview that concerns about the […]

Get Putin Out of Our Rockets, Roll Call “But ULA isn’t happy with these restrictions and has been using its influence in Congress to push back. Indeed, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., whose district houses a major ULA factory has introduced a bill rolling back the limits on Russian engines. At the same time, ULA has decided to limit production of its American-made Delta IV launcher in an effort to strong […]