Tag: OmegA
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Northrop Grumman ends OmegA rocket program
Artist’s illustration of the OmegA rocket. Credit: Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman says it will not continue development of the OmegA rocket after the U.S. Space Force last month picked United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the military’s two top launch contractors over the next seven years. A company spokesperson said Sept. 9 that Northrop Grumman…
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OmegA Launch Tower to be demolished as KSC 39B fails to become a multi-user pad
Following the cancellation of Northrop Grumman’s OmegA rocket, work to demolish the vehicle’s launch tower on a repurposed former Shuttle program Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) will mark the erasure of the program from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It was hoped OmegA would allow the “clean pad” at 39B to fall under the assigned mandate…
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EGS, Jacobs begin SLS booster build up for Artemis 1
NASA Exploration Ground Systems and prime test and operations contractor Jacobs mated the first of two Space Launch System (SLS) aft motor segments for the Artemis 1 launch with its aft skirt on June 24. The connection of two of the major elements of the right-hand aft booster assembly continues preparations of Northrop Grumman booster…
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Solid Rocket Boosters arrive at Kennedy for Artemis 1 and OmegA
For the first time in ten years, Solid Rocket Booster segments have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for flight operations. Successfully completing the cross-country train trip were all 10 propellant segments for the Artemis 1 mission of the SLS rocket as well as inert Castor-series segments for the company’s upcoming OmegA rocket,…
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Northrop Grumman making good progress toward OmegA’s first launch
At various centers in the United States, Northrop Grumman is marching toward the OmegA rocket’s debut flight. The company has finalized the investigation of the nozzle anomaly on the C600 booster static fire test last year, and completed a successful C300 booster static test in February Meanwhile, work continues at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in…
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Northrop Grumman OmegA 2nd stage tested at NGC in Promontory
Northrop Grumman’s OmegA finished another step toward its first flight next year when it was test-fired for 140 seconds (2 minutes 20 seconds) on Thursday at the NGC solid rocket motor factory and test site in Promontory, Utah. The test-firing, which started at 1:05 pm Mountain, was made as to the second and last qualification…
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Rocket Lab’s Virginia launch pad opens for business, with Air Force as first customer
With Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck at center, dignitaries gather at Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Wallops Island. (NASA Wallops Photo) Rocket Lab today celebrated the opening of a launch complex on the Virginia coast, half a world away from its first launch pad in New Zealand. The California-based company’s…
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Blue Origin protests launch contract rules as it competes with SpaceX, ULA, Northrop Grumman
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s future New Glenn rocket, which is currently due to have its first flight in 2021. (Blue Origin Illustration) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is protesting the rules of the game for awarding future national security launch contracts, while continuing to play against SpaceX, United Launch Alliance…
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Northrop Grumman looking into dramatic nozzle anomaly on Omega rocket motor
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Near the end of a ground-shaking test firing of Northrop Grumman’s solid-propellant Castor 600 rocket motor — the first stage of a new booster being designed to launch spy satellites and other national security payloads — a major part of the rocket’s big nozzle appeared to break apart,…
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Blue Origin, ULA and Northrop Grumman weigh in on multibillion-dollar SpaceX rocket lawsuit
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine, shown here during a test firing in Texas, is being developed for use on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as well as United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. (Blue Origin Photo) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and subsidiaries of United Launch Alliance and Northrop Grumman are intervening in…