Tag: GEM-63XL
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GEM-63XL motor test fired at Promontory as part of Vulcan Cert-2 investigation
After Vulcan’s otherwise successful second certification mission (Cert-2) on Oct. 4, 2024, was marred by a nozzle separation on one of the rocket’s GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, questions arose about how and whether this would impact Vulcan’s certification for national security missions. The third Vulcan flight was supposed to start the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA)…
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Solid rocket motor test-fired for Atlas 5 debut next year
A new solid rocket motor built by Northrop Grumman has aced its final test-firing before a scheduled debut on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight next year. Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 solid rocket motor will replace the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid-fueled booster that has flown on Atlas 5 rockets since 2003. Billed…
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Orbital ATK, SpaceX nab U.S. Air Force propulsion contracts
Blue Origin successfully test fires its BE-3 high-performance liquid hydrogen engine thrust chamber at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in this 2012 file photo. Credit: NASA Orbital ATK and SpaceX won Pentagon contracts worth a combined value of up to $241 million Wednesday in public-private partnerships crafted to hasten the U.S. military’s move away from Russian-supplied propulsion…
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Orbital ATK, SpaceX nab U.S. Air Force propulsion contracts
Blue Origin successfully test fires its BE-3 high-performance liquid hydrogen engine thrust chamber at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in this 2012 file photo. Credit: NASA Orbital ATK and SpaceX won Pentagon contracts worth a combined value of up to $241 million Wednesday in public-private partnerships crafted to hasten the U.S. military’s move away from Russian-supplied propulsion…
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Orbital ATK beats out Aerojet in ULA booster selection
File photo of Orbital ATK’s GEM-60 solid rocket booster before attachment to a Delta 4 rocket. The Atlas 5 and Vulcan rockets will use an enlarged version of the motor beginning at the end of 2018. Credit: NASA United Launch Alliance has selected Orbital ATK to provide solid rocket boosters for the company’s next-generation Vulcan…