Will DARPA's New Space Shuttle Crush the SpaceX Grasshopper? DARPA's hypothetical "space plane.
" Photo: DARPA. SpaceX wants to put American astronauts back in space aboard American-built rockets powered by American-built rocket engines. But will the American government give the company the chance? SpaceX recently accomplished a successful "soft" landing of a Falcon 9 rocket that had delivered its payloadto space, then returned safely to Earth. (Unfortunately, it landed on a patch of "Earth" that was actually water and promptly sank.
SpaceX hopes to turn the Falcon 9 into the next stage in evolution of the company's revolutionary "Grasshopper" vertical takeoff and landing space rocket. SpaceX's Grasshopper: Small, but with big potential. The bigger question is whether the U.S. government will want it. DARPA steals SpaceX's thunder A reusable spacecraft holds the potential to save taxpayers billions of dollars in costs by not having to build disposable spacecraft for each new satellite launch. Who benefits? Who gets hurt? Russia to ban export to USA of the RD-170 rocket engine used for the Boeing X-37. Russia may soon terminate its sales of tried and tested rocket engines to the United States for fear they may be used for unfriendly military purposes, Roman Kosarev from the Voice of Russia wrote.
X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle Moscow newspapers have quoted a source in the Russian Space Agency as saying Putin’s National Security Council is considering a cut-off date of December 31, 2015. The item in question is the RD-180, a dual-nozzle rocket engine, derived from the RD-170 used in Soviet Zenit rockets. Propelled by liquid oxygen and highly refined kerosene, which make a very convenient and ecofriendly mix, it currently provides first-stage power for the American Atlas V launch vehicle. The Atlas V rocket is routinely used by the US to put military reconnaissance satellites into, something that Russia is prepared to tolerate. Accordingly, it has no interest in facilitating its development. Is Russia Planning To Ban RD-180 Sales to the U.S.? Russian News Source Claims Russia Reconsidering Exports of RD-180 Engines to US. Marcia S.
Smith Russia Today (RT) is reporting that Russia's Security Council is reconsidering exports of Russian RD-180 rocket engines to the United States. RD-180s are used for the United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) Atlas V rocket. The RT story, based on an account in Russia's Izvestiya newspaper, asserts that a Russian space agency official told Izvestiya that the Russian Security Council may ban exports of the engines and such a ban "could halt the U.S. space program.
" That is an overstatement since the Atlas V is only one U.S. launch vehicle, but it is a very important rocket used for NASA and national security payloads. The RD-180 engines are manufactured by Russia's NPO Energomash. RT reports that 63 engines have been delivered so far and another 31 are due to be delivered under a contract signed in December 2012. Atlas V originally was built by Lockheed Martin as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. Russia Mulls Ban of RD-180 Engine Exports at Parabolic Arc. Atlas V launches OTV3 into orbit from Cape Canaveral.
(Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance.) The Kremlin funded RT news channel reports that the Russian Security Council is considering a ban on the export of RD-180 rocket engines that power the first stage of ULA’s Atlas V launch vehicle. A specially created joint venture, RD-AMROSS, between NPO Energomash and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, has already delivered 63 engines to the US worth $11-15 million apiece, reportedly 40 of them have already been used. In December 2012, a new contract was signed to deliver another 31 engines. Russian rocket engine export ban could halt US space program. Wired 9.12: From Russia, With 1 Million Pounds of Thrust.
From Russia, With 1 Million Pounds of Thrust Why the workhorse RD-180 may be the future of US rocketry.
On the floor of Lockheed Martin's vast Waterton Canyon assembly plant outside Denver, it's easy to distinguish the Russian engines from the ones built in the US. The American models are sleek and shiny, packed with custom fittings and curvilinear piping. There's not a seam showing or a rivet out of place. Orbital Sues ULA, Seeks RD-180 Engines, $515 Million in Damages. WASHINGTON — Orbital Sciences Corp., which wants to buy Russian-made RD-180 engines for its medium-lift Antares rocket, is suing rocket maker United Launch Alliance (ULA) for blocking any such sale, according to court papers dated June 20.
Orbital of Dulles, Va., claims Denver-based ULA has not only illegally prevented open-market sale of the RD-180 but also has monopolized the launch services market for certain satellites in violation of U.S. antitrust laws, according to a complaint filed June 20 with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. Orbital wants a federal judge to strike down an exclusivity agreement ULA has with its engine supplier, RD AMROSS, and to force ULA to pay Orbital at least $515 million — and potentially more than $1.5 billion — for damages arising from ULA’s alleged monopolization of “launch systems and services used for medium-class payload missions,” according to court papers. Orbital wants the case to go before a jury.
RD-180.