SpaceX Dragon capsule reentry animation: this is how a 21st century spacecraft should work
We all know how certain media sources love the smell of bipartisanship in the morning. Here John McCain, yes, that same senator who tried his best to saddle us with Vice President Sarah Palin, actually makes some bipartisan sense:
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Wednesday rejected a request by U.S. officials for changes in federal law to let the two largest U.S. arms makers use more Russian rocket engines to compete for military satellite launches against privately held SpaceX.
McCain's comments reflect frustration among some lawmakers about the Pentagon's failure to halt purchases of the RD-180 Russian engines after Russia's annexation of Crimea. As SpaceX becomes a potential competitor to current monopoly launch provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, billions of dollars of orders are at stake and both sides are lobbying lawmakers hard.