himself today, but he is deputy chair of deaths risk mitigation study and he is a former naz nasa administrationer. general mcfarland, i'll turn it over to you to summarize your opening statement. i would tell all the witnesses, your opening statements in full would be submitted for the record. >> thank you, chairman rogers, ranking member cooper and distinguished members of the committee. i appreciate the opportunity to speak here before this committee, particularly since you're supposed to be at recess and i ask that my written testimony, aus state be taken for the record. thank you. this continues to be critical to our space defense capabilities and national security especially as our world has changed over the last decade to a nonpermissive environment. during or march 17 hearing we touched on many topics concerning the evolved expendable launch vehicle program. amongst those were the department's plans for reintroducing competition on how we secure our launch services for the satellites and our plan for transitioning away from the u.s. of the rd-180 engine the russian engine, on to domestical