Just days after the CEO of United Launch Alliance defended the use of the Russian-built RD-180 rocket engine for national security space launches, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has asked the Pentagon whether the price the United States pays for the first-stage engines is excessive. In a June 20 letter to Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall, McCain asked whether the price the Air Force is paying for the RD-180 through its contracts with ULA for Altas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles...
