Atlas 5 launch. Photo: ULA

[Via Satellite 10-31-13] United Launch Alliance (ULA) recently received its 2013 delivery of Atlas 5 RD-180 engines from RD Amross. The four engines arrived on an Antonov aircraft at Huntsville International Airport in Alabama where they were transported to ULA’s facility in Decatur, Ala.

The RD-180 engine delivers more than 860,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. In total, the engine has accumulated more than 50,000 seconds of engine operation time through a combination of launches and testing.

“To date the NPO-Energomash designed and manufactured RD-180 has powered the launch of 46 Atlas vehicles with 100 percent mission success,” said Bill Parsons, president of RD Amross.

ULA currently has more than a two-year inventory of engines at the factory in Decatur Alabama. Through the production program, Pratt and Whitney demonstrated the capability to co-produce the RD-180 in the U.S.