Air Force and Defense Department space officials agreed the United States ought to consider pursuing a domestic next-generation engine program to replace the Russian-made RD-180, though they’d need to tackle some tough funding and industrial base concerns.
During a House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing Thursday afternoon, chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) asked the panel of witnesses if it made sense to develop “a competitively acquired, next-generation engine available to all U.S. suppliers to replace RD-180.”
Gen. William Shelton, commander of the Air Force Space Command, said the Air Force was already looking at the potential interruption of the RD-180 supply, given tensions with Russia and the potential for more sanctions against the country.
“Those study results will be available in late May. And certainly one of the options we are thinking about is production of an indigenously produced engine,” he told Rogers. “It certainly has its advantages, two that I can think of right off the top of my head: one is no longer relying on a foreign supplier, and secondly, an increase in the U.S. rocket engine industrial base.”
He said having a domestic engine would be a great contribution to the overall space launch program, and he added, “I would be a strong supporter of that if we could find the money to do it.”
Douglas Loverro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, noted that DoD policy dictates that the military have a domestic launch capability, and he said that “I don’t think you can meet that policy and not face the question of, how do you domestically produce an engine in this nation?”
He said there would be funding and industrial base challenges to overcome, but it would be in the long-term interest of the United States and its space program to bring certainty into the supply chain by not relying on foreign companies.
Gil Klinger, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and intelligence, elaborated on the industrial base issues. DoD would likely pursue a liquid oxygen and kerosene engine, but the Navy and Air Force are in the midst of upgrading and modernizing their ballistic missile assets with solid-fuel rocket motors, while NASA relies on cryogenic engines.
“Because my personal belief is that this is a national-level decision in terms of a new engine, I think part of the work we need to do in the executive branch over time is to reconcile those needs with what will inevitably be scarce resources,” he concluded.
Air Force Under Secretary Eric Fanning told reporters last month that the service has enough RD-180 engines to last “well into” 2016, Defense Daily reported. United Launch Alliance CEO Michael Gass told Defense Daily that the company had thus far not invested in producing the engines domestically due to cost concerns — though a more modern manufacturing approach could cost less than the current Russian production model and make opening an American production line a more realistic possibility.