My opinion is that Canoga, West Palm and to a lesser extent Sacramento are to blame for the cost of American rocketry. However, one could argue that NASA's welfare to Canoga and West Palm via the cost-plus SSME contract (and thereby subsidizing other PW and RDYN engines) was even more at the root. No one forced the American heritage engine producers to innovate until Elon paid a bunch of fresh outs and Marshall interns, mentored by a TRW visionary and brave defectors from CP and HB, to make an engine whose economy of scale could counter-intuitively bring reliability as well.
I'm just said it's kinda sad that the situation is what it is...in overall general terms. That we charge so much to build engines, we don't build engines anymore. Yea, that seems like the way to go.
However, what of Merlin engines? SpaceX seems to be able to not only make US made engines, but put them on an LV which is cometative or cheaper than the standard US LV that uses those foreign engines.
OTOH you could simply say that the sad past led to a brighter future...SpaceX manufacturing hundreds of advanced Merlins per year, with a new Raptor engine on the drawing boards, and Blue Origin halfway through development of the BE-4. The old guard is dying, but the future is bright. No reason for lament.
I'm just said it's kinda sad that the situation is what it is...in overall general terms. That we charge so much to build engines, we don't build engines anymore. Yea, that seems like the way to go.
However, what of Merlin engines? SpaceX seems to be able to not only make US made engines, but put them on an LV which is cometative or cheaper than the standard US LV that uses those foreign engines.
OTOH you could simply say that the sad past led to a brighter future...SpaceX manufacturing hundreds of advanced Merlins per year, with a new Raptor engine on the drawing boards, and Blue Origin halfway through development of the BE-4. The old guard is dying, but the future is bright. No reason for lament.
That's a good point. You're a glass is half full kinda guy. :-)
If AR-1 does get developed with Government money it will give Antares the domestic engine it needs for DoD missions.