The modified Russian engine for the first stage of the Lockheed Martin Atlas III booster was test fired successfully at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama, on 4 November. The engine, which will be offered by ILS International Launch Services and will also form the first stage of the company's US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle fleet, is the world's highest-performance liquid oxygen-kerosene propulsion system. Lockheed Martin has already ordered 101 of the RD-180 engines from RD AMROSS, the joint company set up by NPO Energomash and Pratt & Whitney. The RD-180 is based on the Russian company's RD-170 and was modified by P&W.
Source: Flight International