U.S. lawmakers announced a deal Dec. 9 on a 2015 spending plan that includes $220 million for the development of a new rocket propulsion system to replace the Russian-made RD-180 that powers United Launch Alliance's workhorse Atlas 5 rocket. The money was included in the massive omnibus spending bill despite an objection from the U.S. Air Force, which in November said there is no clear path for acquiring a new engine and that it would require extensive changes to any of the launch vehicles at its disposal. "[W]e don't have a program to spend that $220 million," Gen. John Hyten, commander of Air Force Space Command, said at a Dec. 5 breakfast here.
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