US propulsion specialist ATK has thrown its hat in the ring to develop the next generation of American rocket engine, to replace the Russian-supplied RD-180 motor for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V.
ATK’s proposal for a new solid-fuel rocket comes a week after United Launch Alliance – the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture contracted to supply the US Air Force’s national security launches with its Atlas and Delta launcher families – and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, agreed to jointly fund development and testing of Blue Origin’s BE4.
Both parties are responding to a 20 August USAF request for information on possible domestic alternatives to the RD-180, export of which has been banned in the sanctions battle over Ukraine. Neither the ATK nor ULA-Blue Origin solutions would be plug-in replacements for the RD-180, so an expected request for proposals by the USAF looks at this stage likely to result in an all-new launcher.
Although ULA has a two-year stockpile of RD-180s and its Delta IV launcher is made from all-US components, ATK believes there to be some urgency behind the Air Force’s interest in new solutions.
The other big US propulsion players – Aerojet Rocketdyne and SpaceX – have yet to respond to the RFI. Orbital Sciences, whose Antares rocket uses ATK solid-fuel stages on its International Space Station resupply flights, is to merge with ATK, which is preparing for the tie-up by spinning off its sporting ammunition division.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
