![]() McCain wants ULA to begin using an American alternative by 2019 while ULA and the Air Force insist that it will take until 2021 or 2022 until a new engine is developed, tested and certified. ULA, the Air Force and McCain all agree on the need to develop an American engine to replace the RD-180. The Delta IV does not use Russian engines, but is very expensive and ULA concedes it is not cost competitive with SpaceX’s Falcon rockets. it launches the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, referred to as Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV). ULA has held a virtual monopoly on Air Force launch contracts since it was created in 2006. He also supports SpaceX and its determination to compete against ULA for national security launch contracts. reliance on Russian rocket engines to launch national security satellites and payments to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “cronies” as McCain often says. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin and Boeing is headquartered in Durbin’s state of Illinois. ULA builds its rockets in Shelby’s state of Alabama. ![]() Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). ![]() John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and primary architect of the NDAA’s restrictive language, lambasted two members of the Senate Appropriations Committee who championed ULA interests - Sen. ULA said the new engines would be used for “potential civil and commercial launch customers.” The restrictions that were placed on the number of RD-180s the company could obtain in the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) applied only to national security space launches, but in any case they were superseded by language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted last week. The number of RD-180s ULA is allowed to procure has been the subject of intense controversy in Congress. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today that it has ordered more RD-180 rocket engines to power its Atlas V rockets. ![]()
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