Antares rocket producer orders 8 more Russian engines

Orbital Sciences Corporation, the US maker of the Antares rocket, has ordered eight additional RD-181 engines under an option of the 2014 contract with Energomash, the Russian company announced.

Antares was initially designed to use AJ26 engines in its first stage, which are refurbished Soviet NK-33 engines built in the late 1960s and early 1970s by what is now Ukraine’s Yuzhmash for the lunar exploration program.

The use of Russian engines for American rockets is a political issue in US, where some hawkish politicians like Republican Senator John McCain strongly advocate replacing them .... https://www.rt.com/usa