RD Amross Hopes for US-Russia Rocket Engine Cooperation Under Trump

US-Russian venture RD Amross is optimistic about the environment for the US-Russia cooperation on rocket engines under the Trump administration, CEO Michael Baker told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Space Symposium in Colorado.

COLORADO SPRINGS (Sputnik) — Baker pointed out that currently the partnership with his Russian counterparts was "extremely strong and everybody operates really well together."

"It’s really hard to say how President Trump will be. We were hoping for some clarification by now but it’s still not quite clear exactly what he will do," Baker said. "But we are very optimistic that it will be a better environment for our partnership."

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) acquires the RD-180 engines through RD Amross, which is a joint venture, involving RD-180 manufacturer, Russian company Energomash.

In 2014, the US Congress strictly limited future purchases of Russian RD-180 engines at a time when it imposed economic sanctions on Russia.

Moreover, legislators passed a law requiring the United States to develop a domestically produced next-generation rocket propulsion system by 2019 in order to eliminate reliance on the Russian RD-180 rocket engines.

However, in December 2015, Congress passed a budget that includes a provision allowing the United States to continue purchasing the RD-180s.