
The U.S. Air Force released a solicitation late Oct. 5 that envisions developing new, domestically produced space launch vehicles to end the service’s reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines.According to the request for proposals, issued by the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, the Air Force plans to award launch service agreements (LSAs) to fund the development of at least three launch system prototypes. Bids are due Nov. 20.The Air Force will ultimately pick two launch providers to replace the United…