McCain Stands Down: Congress Reaches Compromise on Russian Rockets
… from Sputnik News, Moscow
– First published … June 15, 2016 –
The Senate war over Russian rocket
engines appears to be over, as lawmakers have agreed that an all-out
boycott benefits no one. The debate over this year’s US defense budget
centered around the purchase of Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines.
Designed and manufactured by NPO Energomash,
the rockets are a key element of the Atlas V launch vehicles, providing a
cost-effective alternative to the Delta IV, Washington’s only other
current option.
“I
supported this compromise because it contains a legislative cutoff date
for the use of Russian rocket engines,” McCain said in a statement.
“It does not alter other
important space launch provisions in the NDAA [National Defense
Authorization Act]. It provides for a sustainable path to achieve the
broadly shared goal of assured access to space, competition in national
security space launch, and ending our dependence on Russian engines.”
NASA PUBLIC
“We never want to get to the
position that we just have one rocket company, because if something
happened, you want to have a backup,” Nelson said, according to Defense
News.
“We have got to get satellites
into space to protect our national security, and we’ve got to do it
over this period of time from now until the end of 2022.”
The US government is hoping that American companies like SpaceX will
perfect their own rockets. For the time being, the Delta IV rocket is
the only viable US-made option, but its hefty price tag led to charges
that abandoning the cheaper RD-180 would be financially irresponsible.
“Using Delta when an Atlas will do is like burning $100 million
on the back lawn for fun. That’s how big the price difference could be
for some missions,” Loren B. Thompson, a senior defense analyst with the
Lexington Institute, said.
“If Delta
gets grounded like SpaceX rockets were last year, and Russian engines
can’t be used, then there will be no way of orbiting satellites critical
to America’s defense.”
On Monday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told Defense News that he thought the debate had been “healthy” and “positive.”
“We don’t have to agree. Our job
is to provide the best military advice we can give based on the reality
of the time. And if Congress disagrees with it, they make a decision
about what they will authorize and appropriate, and we move onto the
next annual cycle,” he said.
“Everyone wants to get off the
RD-180 engine, the Russian-built engine, as soon as we possibly can.
Everybody wants the same things. But there are disagreements from all
parties, on the best way to get from here to there.”
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