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Air Force

McCain Threatens ‘Unrestricted Prohibition’ Of RD-180

Pat Host

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

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McCain Threatens ‘Unrestricted Prohibition’ Of RD-180

NASA engineers successfully test the Russian-built RD-180 in 1998 at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. Photo: NASA.

Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) threatened exploring an “unrestricted prohibition” on Russian rocket engine use following United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) decision not to participate in the Air Force’s first launch competition in roughly a decade.In a lengthy Tuesday letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, McCain assailed ULA’s reasoning for not bidding for the 2018 Global Positioning System III (GPS III) launch. He said ULA’s assertion that the launch competition was basically a “lowest price, technically acceptable”…

Congress

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Army

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