Pentagon says it will not use Russian rocket engines
The United States plans to completely abandon Russian RD-180 rocket engines in the next few years, said John Raymond, head of the BBC's Space Command, during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.
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| Photo: Sputnik |
“Our launch strategy is working. We have had 76 successful launches out of 76. Costs have decreased by 24% since 2012. We are moving away from dependence on the RD-180 engine,” the general explained.
“By law, these purchases must stop by 2022,” he explained.
Earlier, the General Director of the Russian-American joint venture RD AMROSS, former NASA astronaut Michael Baker said that the RD-180 engine will continue to be supplied to the United States at least until 2023-2024.
To date, 85 flights have been made on American Atlas-3 and Atlas-5 rockets using RD-180 engines. The first engine of this type was delivered to the United States in January 1999. In total, according to NPO Energomash, 113 engines have been delivered to the United States.
