ULA Could Buy as Many as 30 More Russian-made RD-180 Engines

摘要

U.S. government launch services provider United Launch Alliance is evaluating a proposal to purchase as many as 30 more RD-180 engines for its Atlas 5 rocket despite a congressio-nally imposed ban on using the Russian-built hardware in its primary national security market. The new engines would be used for future commercial Atlas 5 missions, ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said. The Atlas 5 today is used primarily for U.S. government missions, but the vehicle is being shopped more aggressively on the commercial market and is expected to begin launching astronaut-carrying capsules to the International Space Station on a commercial basis as early as 2017.