Northrop Grumman Corporation has conducted a full-scale static fire test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah. Developed to support the U.S. Space Force's National Security Space Launch program, the OmegA Launch System remains on track for its first certification flight in spring 2021.
During the test, the second stage motor fired for full-duration, approximately 140 seconds, burning nearly 340,000 pounds of solid propellant to produce upwards of 785,000 pounds of thrust.
The test verified the motor's ballistics and thermal performance as well as steering control and performance in a cold-conditioned environment. The test team collected more than 500 channels of data to aid in verifying the motor.
"Northrop Grumman designed OmegA to use the most reliable propulsion available to ensure exceptional mission assurance for our customers," said Charlie Precourt, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. "The firing is a significant accomplishment that demonstrates a domestic solution for the RD-180 rocket engine replacement."
In October 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $792 million Launch Services Agreement to complete detailed design and verification of the OmegA space launch vehicle and launch sites.
The cold test, in conjunction with the successful hot static fire in May 2019, subjected OmegA's motors to the most extreme propellant temperatures the rocket will experience during storage, transport, stacking and launch.
Northrop Grumman has leveraged its flight proven technologies and extensive experience launching critical payloads in the development of the OmegA launch system. The rocket was designed to accommodate national security payloads while also serving the civil and commercial markets.
In preparation for OmegA's inaugural flight, Northrop Grumman now occupies High Bay 2 as the first commercial tenant in NASA's historic Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Construction crews are currently modifying Mobile Launch Platform-3 to serve as OmegA's assembly and launch platform at Pad 39B.
Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.
Related Links
Northrop Grumman
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
| Thanks for being there; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. |
||
| SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5+ Billed Monthly |
 |
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal |
AFRL, Masten Space Systems, NASA, collaborate on successful testing of methane engine
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Feb 21, 2020
The Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, and Masten Space Systems Inc. successfully tested a liquid methane rocket engine, the first of its kind tested at AFRL. AFRL and Masten signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement in December 2018. The agreement enabled Masten to test the Broadsword 25K engine at AFRL's rocket testing facility at Edwards Air Force Base in Test Area 1-125 and complete NASA's Tipping Point contract requirement of a ten second ... read more
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense https://ift.tt/2Tg0XHi
via space News
No comments: