ALJAZEERA: …Orbital Science Corp.’s failed rocket launch not only incinerated $200 million of cargo, it cast doubts on the company’s decades-old Russian propulsion engines and dealt a setback to the commercial spaceflight efforts championed by the White House and NASA.
The company planned to do away with the AJ26 engines by 2017 but will now look at alternatives sooner, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As most of you know, the AJ26 rocket engines used in that system have presented us with some serious technical and supply challenges in the past,” Orbital chairman and CEO David Thompson said in a conference call with investors and financial analysts… (more)
