Orbital Sciences [ORB] is exploring multiple engine alternatives in case its lawsuit against United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Russian rocket engine provider RD AMROSS falls through, according to a company executive.
Orbital Executive Vice President and General Manager for Advanced Programs Frank Culbertson told Defense Daily yesterday said the company is exploring three additional engine options to the RD-180 liquid propulsion rocket engine, though he declined to provide specifics due to ongoing legal proceedings. Culbertson’s remarks came following a presentation at a Washington Space Business Roundtable (WSBR) lunch in downtown Washington.
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| Orbital’s Antares medium-lift vehicle launches. Photo: Orbital. |
Orbital in June sued ULA and RD AMROSS in U.S. District Court alleging anti-competitive practices restricting the company from accessing the RD-180 engine, which Orbital viewed in its lawsuit as critical to competing in the medium-lift launch market, which ULA currently hold a monopoly on.
An industry source told Defense Daily yesterday there are four possible alternatives to the RD-180. One could be the RS-68 engine developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne, a division of GenCorp [GY]. The RS-68 was designed with a liquid hydrogen and oxygen booster and clocks in at 14,875 pounds, in which the size would require multiple engines for launch, the source said. Another alternative, the source said, could be the Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AJ-26, which was described as about one-third the size of the RD-180. Orbital said in its suit the AJ-26 is an upgraded version of the Russian NK-33 engine developed by Russian manufacturer Kuznetsov, which Orbital said isn’t in production and is in low quantity.
A third alternative could be the RD-120 developed by Russian engine manufacturer NPO Energomash, the source said, which also develops the RD-180. A fourth possible alternative could be the RD-171M, also manufactured by NPO Energomash. Longer shot alternatives could include European and Japanese engines, but the source said these are likely too expensive to be realistic considerations.
Orbital wants access to the RD-180 engine because it currently relies on the AJ-26 engine. Aerojet, which recently acquired Rocketdyne from United Technologies Corp.’s [UTX] Pratt & Whitney division, is awaiting Russian regulatory approval of its acquisition of UTC’s 50 percent stake in RD AMROSS. RD AMROSS is a joint venture of UTC and NPO Energomash.
Orbital alleged in its suit ULA let an exclusivity agreement with RD AMROSS expire two-and-a-half years before renewing it in the late 2000s in a direct reaction to Orbital’s attempts to compete in the medium-lift market, in which Orbital uses its Antares launch vehicle. Orbital said in its lawsuit ULA and RD AMROSS had a 10-year exclusive agreement from 1996 through 2006. Orbital said after a conference call with RD AMROSS and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to consider the sale was attended by ULA President and CEO Michael Gass, RD AMROSS backed out.
Subsequently in 2010, Orbital said ULA and RD AMROSS executed an extension of the expired exclusivity agreement, extending it through July 31, 2016. Orbital said it then requested to buy RD-180s after the exclusivity agreement ended in 2016, only to have RD AMROSS reject the deal once again and extend its agreement with ULA through 2018 (Defense Daily, June 25).
ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA].