Author Topic: SASC Hearing | Military Space Launch & The Use of Russian Engines | Jan 27 2016  (Read 74088 times)

Offline Dante80

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 Military Space Launch and the Use of Russian-made Rocket Engines   

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 
Time:
09:30 AM 
Location:
Room SH-216, Hart Senate Office Building

Agenda: To receive testimony on military space launch and the use of Russian-made rocket engines.

Witnesses:
Honorable  Frank Kendall III  Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics   
Honorable  Deborah Lee James  Secretary of the Air Force

http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/16-01-27-military-space-launch-and-the-use-of-russian-made-rocket-engines
« Last Edit: 01/22/2016 02:26 am by Dante80 »

Offline AncientU

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Will McCain preside?
As upset as he was when the budget act allowed RD-180 purchases, this will be his first chance to really vent...
Could be interesting.
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
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Offline Dante80

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Yes, McCain will chair the hearing. This is going to be interesting (in a - slightly demented - way).

Offline QuantumG

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Wow, sooner than I thought.
Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline Brovane

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Let the beating commence.   ;)
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline AncientU

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Let the beating commence.   ;)

Got the wrong suspects, but beating will commence indeed.
Maybe the USAF will pass on the pain.
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
-- SpaceX friend of mlindner

Offline Brovane

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Let the beating commence.   ;)

Got the wrong suspects, but beating will commence indeed.
Maybe the USAF will pass on the pain.

Yeah they have the wrong suspects.

However Congress doesn't care.  It is interesting that nobody from industry will be a witness. 
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline Rocket Science

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Major popcorn event, thanks for the heads-up! ;D
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline woods170

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Let the beating commence.   ;)

Got the wrong suspects, but beating will commence indeed.
Maybe the USAF will pass on the pain.

Yeah they have the wrong suspects.

However Congress doesn't care.  It is interesting that nobody from industry will be a witness. 

They don't have the wrong suspects. Congress can hardly have it's own folks come to testify. The public image is that particularly ULA had been crying foul over the congressionally imposed ban on RD-180. But that was just the public display. In reality it mostly was USAF working US Congress (behind the scenes) to get rid of the ban. One indication of this is the very lackluster way in which USAF started implementing the congressionally ordered RD-180 replacement efforts. And although the orders from US Congress were very clear (replace the RD-180 with a US domestic alternative) USAF also chose to not adhere to those orders. Hell no, they asked industry to come up with an entirely new launch system, not just an engine. The result is that a replacement system will take quite a bit longer to be operational than just having the engine replaced. And that naturally leads to USAF convincing some folks in US Congress that ULA really ought to be allowed to purchase additional RD-180's.
And it worked out beautifully. The RD-180 ban has been effectively nullified by the appropriators. Nothing can stop them nullifying an all-out ban on any Russian engine in the next round of appropriations. A precedent has been set now.
Basically: McCain has lost. And IMO this particular hearing will not serve to change anything. I'm not going to get out the popcorn because the hearing may be spectacular in nature, but the long-term results won't be.
« Last Edit: 01/26/2016 10:58 am by woods170 »

Offline Rocket Science

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Never happened... snow? No popcorn then...  Perhaps time for tea and scones... ;D
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Endeavour_01

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Never happened... snow? No popcorn then...  Perhaps time for tea and scones... ;D

Its still on according to Marcia Smith:

Quote
Marcia Smith ‏@SpcPlcyOnline  · 2h2 hours ago 
DC-area govt offices reopen tmrw (Wed) w/3 hr delay. SASC website shows RD-180 hrg still on for 9:30, but best to check again tmrw am.
I cheer for both NASA and commercial space. For SLS, Orion, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon, Starship/SH, Starliner, Cygnus and all the rest!
I was blessed to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-99. The launch was beyond amazing. My 8-year old mind was blown. I remember the noise and seeing the exhaust pour out of the shuttle as it lifted off. I remember staring and watching it soar while it was visible in the clear blue sky. It was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will never forget it.

Offline Dante80

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« Last Edit: 01/27/2016 12:57 pm by Dante80 »

Offline Proponent

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McCain refers to Sen. Durbin's (and Shelby's) parochial interests in resisting replacement of the RD-180.  What are Durbin's parochial interests in this case?

Offline Brovane

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he wants split buys between the Atlas and Delta until a replacement engine is avail.

Would it be split buys between F9 and Delta? 
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline AncientU

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McCain refers to Sen. Durbin's (and Shelby's) parochial interests in resisting replacement of the RD-180.  What are Durbin's parochial interests in this case?

Boeing based in Chicago...
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
-- SpaceX friend of mlindner

Offline Proponent

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Delta no longer commercially competitive?  When was it ever competitive?
« Last Edit: 01/27/2016 01:51 pm by Proponent »

Offline Prober

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Would cost 3 billion for a RD-180 replacement??
« Last Edit: 03/23/2016 03:32 pm by Prober »
2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

Offline Brovane

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McCain is on the warpath.....
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline Prober

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McCain is on the warpath.....
he asks and answers his own questions
2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

Offline Brovane

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Lots of harping on the Launch ELC costs. 
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

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