Northrop Grumman is a prominent American multinational aerospace and defense company deeply involved in the space industry. As a space technology and launch systems provider, they manufacture spacecraft, satellites, and precision sensors. They are a major partner with NASA, providing cargo delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) through their Cygnus spacecraft and contributing to projects like the James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop Grumman is also involved in developing advanced autonomous systems for military and commercial applications.
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Northrop Grumman has a contract with Intelsat to extend the life of the 16-year-old Intelsat 10-02 communications satellite by five years using the MEV-2 servicer.
Intelsat has ordered six C-band replacement satellites—four from Maxar Technologies and two from Northrop Grumman—and is pursuing $4,870,000,000 in accelerated spectrum clearing payments while negotiating with manufacturers for one more satellite.
Northrop Grumman delivered three GEM 63 solid rocket motors to United Launch Alliance that will fly later 2020 on an Atlas 5 vehicle.
Northrop Grumman completed the first qualification test of the GEM 63XL strap-on rocket motor on 2020-08-13.
Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) 2 is scheduled to launch 2020-08-15 on an Ariane 5 and that launch will also place the Galaxy 30 and BSAT-4b communications satellites into orbit.
The static firing of the 63-inch-diameter graphite epoxy GEM 63XL motor took place at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah.
The October 2018 Launch Service Agreement awards provided Blue Origin $500 million, Northrop Grumman $792 million, and ULA $967,000,000 to be spread out through 2024.
The Air Force will terminate the Launch Service Agreement contracts awarded in October 2018 to Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman.
SES signed contracts earlier this summer with Northrop Grumman and Boeing for two C-band satellites apiece.
Luxembourg-based Intelsat says it needs seven replacement satellites and has ordered six, selecting Maxar Technologies to build four and Northrop Grumman to build two.
The IXPE spacecraft was originally designed to launch on Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL for a zero-degree-inclination orbit over 500 km.
NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX in July 2019 for the IXPE launch on Falcon 9, replacing the originally planned Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL.
SpaceX will launch two satellites built by Northrop Grumman on a Falcon 9 in 2022 for SES.
Blue Origin is competing with SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Northrop Grumman for two long-term launch contracts the U.S. Defense Department is expected to award 2020.
The GEM 63 rocket motors were developed under a cooperative agreement between Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance.
Northrop Grumman delivered three custom-designed solid rocket motors on 2020-07-21 to fly later 2020 on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V vehicle.
Northrop Grumman shipped the three GEM 63 motors from its facility in Magna, Utah to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
United Launch Alliance plans to fly GEM 63 motors on future Atlas V missions while Northrop Grumman completes development of the larger GEM 63XL for Vulcan Centaur.
Work on the James Webb Space Telescope at the Northrop Grumman facility briefly halted in March 2020 because of the pandemic and then continued at a slower pace for a couple of months before resuming near-full shifts.
Northrop Grumman delivered the 10 solid rocket booster segments to Kennedy Space Center last month.