Air Force In Search of Rocket Engines Following Dispute With Russia

Yesterday, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said his country will refuse to sell the United States their NK-33 and RD-180 rocket engines if they continue to use them for military satellite launches.

In response to Rogozin's comments due to the sanctions the United States has placed on Russia due to the crisis in Ukraine, the U.S. Air Force has already begun looking elsewhere for rocket engines. Also, a spokeswoman from the United Launch Alliance told reporters that they have a contingency plan in case Russia decided to cut their supply to the U.S.

Although the U.S. relies on the Russian rocket engines for various space launches, including the transport of astronauts to the International Space Station, some don't seemed to be fazed by the potential loss.

"I don't like to launch on Russian engines," said Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, a senior Air Force acquisition official, in this Wall Street Journal article. "Remember, our only option to get men into space is to launch on a full Russian rocket. That is kind of embarrassing, too."

However, this sequence of events could play out in fairly interesting manner, especially since SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk was granted a temporary injunction by a U.S. Federal Court earlier this month that prohibits the Air Force from purchasing Russian rocket engines. Musk claimed that the Air Force "monopolized" national security-related space launches in their contract with the United Launch Alliance. Musk believes his private company, SpaceX, should be able to compete for the right to conduct such launches.

Now, the "threat" issued by Rogozin could alarm the Air Force and have them turn to a U.S. company that has the experience and background for space operations. SpaceX conducts resupply missions to the International Space Station as well as other Earth-orbiting missions. SpaceX makes their own engines and they recently discovered a way to potentially make their rockets reusable. Using their engines alone would save American taxpayers at least $1 billion, Musk says.

But the Air Force has other options, including Delta rockets, which are more expensive and use American-made hydrogen powered engines. They may also attempt to mimic the Russian versions, but only time will tell. Elon Musk could seal a big victory for his company as well as the American taxpayers.