WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of congressmen have written a letter to President Obama asking him to back funding for a new American-made rocket engine.
"We are writing to express our strong support for the development of a new, American liquid-fueled hydrocarbon rocket booster engine," they wrote in the letter, which calls for a new engine to be available "no later" than 2019.
At issue is the RD-180, a Russian-produced engine used by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) on its Atlas V launch vehicle, a key component of the Air Force's military launch program. Since Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory, there has been a growing push from both inside and outside the Pentagon to develop a domestic replacement for the RD-180.
In its version of the FY 2015 defense appropriations bill, the House included $220 million to begin development of a new rocket engine. Air Force officials have expressed concern about whether that money will force offsets elsewhere within the service's budget.
The authors of the letter do not seem to share that concern, giving the engine program a high priority.
"These monies should be focused on funding a cost efficient engine development program that is completed in an expeditious manner," the letter reads. "Significant dilution of the monies to other technology efforts runs the risk of delaying the engine development program and perpetuating US reliance on Russian launch engines."
Dated Sept. 17, the letter is signed by 19 members of Congress, including Rep. C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Md., the former chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence's Technical and Tactical Intelligence subcommittee, which has oversight over space programs; Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., a member of the House Armed Services Committee who also serves as vice chair on the Science, Space and Technology panel's subcommittee on Space; and several members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the same day the letter was sent, ULA announced it was teaming with Seattle-based Blue Origin to develop an American engine.
The letter is also copied to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and the chairs and ranking members of the House Appropriations and Armed Services committees, among others. ■
Email: amehta@defensenews.com.
