The fiscal year 2015 defense spending bill passed Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) includes $220 million for a next-generation liquid rocket engine.
Momentum has been building on Capitol Hill for a new engine as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin reportedly threatened to cut off supplies of the critical RD-180 engine if used, as it currently is, in Defense Department space launches. DoD officials have said they have not received official notice from Russia that engine supplies would cease.
A key study panel said impacts from a loss of the Russian-made RD-180 engine are significant and action must be taken during FY ’14 to mitigate those impacts. The panel suggested directing development of a new liquid oxygen (LOX) oxidizer/hydrocarbon fuel rocket engine as well as a next-generation launch vehicle (Defense Daily, May 21).
The report accompanying the bill text says HAC wants the engine ready no later than FY ’22. The committee also wants the defense secretary to coordinate with the NASA administrator, as practicable, to submit a report no later than 180 days after the bill becomes law that includes a risk reduction and development plan analyzing, among others, public-private partnership and estimated costs.
HAC also appropriated $32.9 million for the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) III space modernization initiative (SMI) to address issues related to design, engineering and obsolescence for GPS satellites. Of the money allocated, the committee directs the Air Force secretary to allocate $20 million to study technological maturation, including the use of an alternative GPS payload.