Tag: Northrop Grumman
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ESA Revises ISS Barter Plan With NASA After Cancelling Cargo Transport Call
The European Space Agency (ESA) has outlined a revised barter arrangement with the United States that would allow it to meet its International Space Station (ISS) cost-sharing obligations without commissioning a dedicated commercial cargo delivery mission, senior officials said this month. The move follows ESA’s decision in December to cancel a call for proposals for…
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Space Development Agency awards roughly $3.5 billion to 4 companies for 72 missile tracking and warning satellites
An artist’s rendering of Rocket Lab’s Tracking Layer Tranche 3 (TRKT3) program satellites, which are built on its Lightning satellite platform. Image: Rocket Lab The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded roughly $3.5 billion to four companies to begin building out the third generation of its low Earth orbit constellation. The SDA issued…
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Northrop Grumman tests fast-developed SMART motor, looks ahead to future applications
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC), one of the largest space and defense contractors in the United States, is best known for its Space Shuttle and SLS solid rocket motors. However, it also manufactures a wide range of other solid rocket motors for space and defense applications. The company maintains and operates a program, the Solid Motor…
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U.S. Space Force Awards Prototype Contracts for Space-Based Missile Interceptors
The U.S. Space Force has awarded initial prototype contracts to multiple companies to develop space-based interceptors capable of disabling enemy missiles within minutes of launch, as part of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the service said in a statement. The contracts were issued under competitive Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), a mechanism used to…
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Janus Henderson to Make Strategic Investment in Starlab Space
Janus Henderson Group and Voyager Technologies said on Tuesday that the investment firm will take a strategic stake in Starlab Space, a commercial space station developer preparing to operate in low Earth orbit after the retirement of the International Space Station. Starlab Space, founded in 2021 and based in Houston, is a joint venture led…
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SEOPS Books Dedicated 2028 Mission on Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum Rocket
SEOPS, a Texas-based small-satellite launch aggregator, has signed a launch services agreement with Isar Aerospace for a dedicated mission on the company’s Spectrum rocket, scheduled for 2028, the companies said on Monday. The deal marks a shift for SEOPS, which has relied exclusively on SpaceX rideshare missions since the retirement of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket.…
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Voyager Technologies Taps Vivace to Build Starlab Space Station Structure
Voyager Technologies has selected Vivace Corporation to produce the primary structure of the Starlab commercial space station, the companies announced Wednesday. Vivace, an aerospace manufacturer serving NASA, United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, and Northrop Grumman, will carry out design-to-manufacture work and begin production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana. Earlier this year,…
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NASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus XL arrival to ISS following propulsion issue
File (Aug. 6, 2024) — Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft, with its prominent cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays, is pictured awaiting its capture by the Canadarm2 robotic arm commanded by Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick of NASA. The maneuver marked the 50th free-flying capture for the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Image: NASA Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus…
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Northrop Grumman’s 1st Cygnus XL spacecraft launches on cargo run to the space station
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sept. 14, 2025, to begin the NG-23 mission. This was the first launch of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft. Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL vehicle was jettisoned on…
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Launch preview: SpaceX to launch new, improved Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL resupply ship to the space station
Technicians use a crane to lift Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized cargo module out of the shipping container on Thursday, July 10, 2025, inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new extended Cygnus capsule, scheduled to launch no earlier than Sept. 14, 2025, will carry supplies, food, and…