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ULA's other rocket, the Boeing Delta IV uses engines designed and made in the US - the Rocketdyne RS-68[1]. The Delta IV is more expensive to fly than the Atlas
by wolf550e 12y ago
ULA's other rocket, the Boeing Delta IV uses engines designed and made in the US - the Rocketdyne RS-68[1]. The Delta IV is more expensive to fly than the Atlas V, for missions both launchers can do. Also, it is not manufactured in large numbers, though it can be, but only if given enough lead time.
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-68
- furyg3 12y agoMy understanding was also that they had many Russian rockets warehoused for national security launches.
- dm2 12y ago2-3 years worth of Russian engines, but the contracts were for 5+ years, so if Russia banned exports of rockets to the US then we could be screwed without SpaceX or scrambling to produce our own engines at a much greater cost (most likely). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWVZYKGTenE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWVZYKGTenE
- runlevel1 12y agoBased on the testimony in that video: The Delta IV and Atlas V have overlapping use cases. The Russian engine (RD-180) is only used in the Atlas V. So it would seem that they could shift to the Delta IV once the stockpile runs out. They also have the blueprints and specs for the RD-180. It would take a lot of time and money to ramp up production, but not as much as if they were building a new engine from scratch. That said, I do agree that the US would probably be screwed (in the wallet) without SpaceX.