http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/01/u-s-debates-atlas-v-rd-180-ban-ulas-non-bid-military/
Honestly, this issue has always been possible. Launching mostly government and military space assets with engines designed and ( at first ) manufactured in Russia ( or the Ukraine for Orbital's Antares rocket ) sounds great on the money side.....they were cheap, available, and had been in use already ( launch the Soviet space shuttle in the 80's ). The questions now are 1. should this practice be allowed to continue, 2 for how long, and 3 how much is ULA ( a combination of the Boeing and Lockheed launch services ) playing politics, with their current monopoly on these government launches and the recent certification of SpaceX to launch highly classified payloads?
The U.S. Congress is debating the reinstatement of a purchasing ban on Russian RD-180 engines – the heart of the Atlas V core stage. Congress lifted that ban in December 2015. However, some Congressional members are questioning that decision as well as ULA’s decision to not bid for the 2018 competitive U.S. military GPS III-3 satellite launch contract.
At the center of this row is the RD-180 engine, built by RD AMROSS, a U.S. joint venture of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, and NPO Energomash of Khimki, Russia.
Under the original joint-venture contract, Energomash was contracted to deliver 101 RD-180 engines, enough for 101 missions of the Atlas V, for the fixed price of $1 billion USD over the course of several years.
Thus, the RD-180s could be used for any Atlas V mission – be it a commercial, civil, government, or national security payload.
===
Moreover, Senator Durbin said continuing the engine ban would essentially eliminate the Atlas V from competition and bidding for U.S. military launches and leave only SpaceX as the sole provider for U.S. military launch needs.
Senator Durbin’s comments regarding ULA’s potential inability to bid on military launch contracts followed a November 2015 moment when ULA declined to bid on a competitive GPS III-3 launch contract.
That bidding process was the first competitive bid between ULA and SpaceX following the latter company’s completion of Air Force and U.S. national government certification for the launch of sensitive government payloads on its Falcon 9 rocket.
At the time of bidding, ULA declined to submit a bid citing accounting uncertainties.
This caught the ire of Senator John McCain who, during Wednesday’s briefing, discussed what he viewed as gross negligence on ULA’s part in not bidding for the GPS III-3 mission given ULA’s $800 million USD annual appropriation from the Air Force.
Honestly, this issue has always been possible. Launching mostly government and military space assets with engines designed and ( at first ) manufactured in Russia ( or the Ukraine for Orbital's Antares rocket ) sounds great on the money side.....they were cheap, available, and had been in use already ( launch the Soviet space shuttle in the 80's ). The questions now are 1. should this practice be allowed to continue, 2 for how long, and 3 how much is ULA ( a combination of the Boeing and Lockheed launch services ) playing politics, with their current monopoly on these government launches and the recent certification of SpaceX to launch highly classified payloads?
The U.S. Congress is debating the reinstatement of a purchasing ban on Russian RD-180 engines – the heart of the Atlas V core stage. Congress lifted that ban in December 2015. However, some Congressional members are questioning that decision as well as ULA’s decision to not bid for the 2018 competitive U.S. military GPS III-3 satellite launch contract.
At the center of this row is the RD-180 engine, built by RD AMROSS, a U.S. joint venture of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, and NPO Energomash of Khimki, Russia.
Under the original joint-venture contract, Energomash was contracted to deliver 101 RD-180 engines, enough for 101 missions of the Atlas V, for the fixed price of $1 billion USD over the course of several years.
Thus, the RD-180s could be used for any Atlas V mission – be it a commercial, civil, government, or national security payload.
===
Moreover, Senator Durbin said continuing the engine ban would essentially eliminate the Atlas V from competition and bidding for U.S. military launches and leave only SpaceX as the sole provider for U.S. military launch needs.
Senator Durbin’s comments regarding ULA’s potential inability to bid on military launch contracts followed a November 2015 moment when ULA declined to bid on a competitive GPS III-3 launch contract.
That bidding process was the first competitive bid between ULA and SpaceX following the latter company’s completion of Air Force and U.S. national government certification for the launch of sensitive government payloads on its Falcon 9 rocket.
At the time of bidding, ULA declined to submit a bid citing accounting uncertainties.
This caught the ire of Senator John McCain who, during Wednesday’s briefing, discussed what he viewed as gross negligence on ULA’s part in not bidding for the GPS III-3 mission given ULA’s $800 million USD annual appropriation from the Air Force.
