Rising Engine Costs, Uncertainty Drive Up Atlas 5 Prices for NASA

摘要

Rising propulsion costs, demand uncertainty and an eroding industrial base are the drivers behind what NASA says is a significant price increase for the Atlas 5 rocket, which is used to launch the agency's most valuable scientific payloads, according to industry and NASA officials. Industry officials said the winding down of the space shuttle program has led to higher prices for the RL 10 upper-stage engine, the second-most-expensive component on the Atlas 5, which is built by United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Denver, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture. The RL 10 is manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., which also builds the space shuttle's main engines.