Air Force head questions schedule for RD-180 replacement
Posted: Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 6:49 AM ET (1149 GMT)
The Secretary of the Air Force said this week that she doubts a domestically-manufactured replacement for the RD-180 engine would be ready by a 2019 deadline set by Congress. Testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee Wednesday, Deborah Lee James said she wasn't sure the Air Force could have that engine replacement completed by 2019, a date set in a defense authorization bill last year. Congress established that deadline to end US reliance on the Russian-built RD-180, setting aside funding to start work on a replacement. In online comments Thursday, Tory Bruno, head of United Launch Alliance, said that he believed his privately-developed BE-4 engine would be ready for flight by 2019, but would not be certified for national security space launches until the early 2020s.
The Secretary of the Air Force said this week that she doubts a domestically-manufactured replacement for the RD-180 engine would be ready by a 2019 deadline set by Congress. Testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee Wednesday, Deborah Lee James said she wasn't sure the Air Force could have that engine replacement completed by 2019, a date set in a defense authorization bill last year. Congress established that deadline to end US reliance on the Russian-built RD-180, setting aside funding to start work on a replacement. In online comments Thursday, Tory Bruno, head of United Launch Alliance, said that he believed his privately-developed BE-4 engine would be ready for flight by 2019, but would not be certified for national security space launches until the early 2020s.
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