/sci/ - Science & Math

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But the americans did make their own version of the RD-180. It was the AR-1 and it was being made by aerojet rocketdyne. Turns out no one wanted it and all their supply contracts fell through. ULA went with blue origin instead. Face it, the RD-180 is obsolete now.

Sorry to interrupt your delusions about memetight suits and misguided libertarian space fantasies, but an important real world announcement has been made:
http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/10/18/1932085/0/en/Aerojet-Rocketdyne-and-Firefly-Aerospace-to-Provide-Flexible-Access-to-Space.html

>“This collaboration will leverage Firefly’s new family of launch vehicles and in-space services with Aerojet Rocketdyne’s experience in propulsion development, additive manufacturing and mission assurance for commercial, national security and exploration missions.”

>“Firefly is committed to flying Beta, our medium class launch vehicle. Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR1 engine, which incorporates the latest advances in propulsion technology, materials science and manufacturing techniques, is incredibly well suited to power Beta given its cost-effective, high performance capabilities. By cooperating on this development, we are accelerating our time to market and providing our customers with high confidence in Beta’s schedule, performance and reliability.”

Somebody has bought the AR-1!