Frank Kendall: Rocket Engine Development Cost Sharing a Possibility

Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall has said DoD is open to the possibility of sharing development costs for a U.S.-made rocket engine with industry, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

“The approach we would prefer, rather than just paying for new engine development, is to help someone close their business case [for] providing launch services,” Kendall said at the Space & Missile Defense conference in Huntsville, Alabama.

He said the Pentagon is “open-minded” on how much it would pay for a new rocket engine to replace the Russian-built RD-180 “as long as we get guarantees that we will get launch capability at a certain point in time.”

Kendall told reporters the department would consider funding an engine development and offer it to launch services providers as government-furnished equipment if it fails to “close anybody’s business case.”