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85-556: VentureStar was intended to be a commercial single-stage-to-orbit vehicle that would be launched vertically, but return to Earth as an airplane. Flights would have been leased to NASA as needed. After failures with the X-33 subscale technology demonstrator test vehicle, funding was cancelled in 2001. VentureStar was essentially a bigger version of the X-33 but was not produced. The X-33 had ongoing problems meeting performance requirements for

170-494: A Herndon mailing address ), works on "the entire life cycle of civil and defense platforms and capabilities through a range of services". Vinnell , a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, provides training and communications for the military. In 2003, it landed a $ 48 million contract to train the Iraqi Army . In 2005, the company won a $ 2 billion contract with Virginia to overhaul most of the state's IT operations. Later that year,

255-476: A thrust to weight ratio in excess of 1, enabling them to lift off. Clearly, one of the main issues with nuclear propulsion would be safety, both during a launch for the passengers, but also in case of a failure during launch. As of February 2024, no current program is attempting nuclear propulsion from Earth's surface. Because they can be more energetic than the potential energy that chemical fuel allows for, some laser or microwave powered rocket concepts have

340-459: A body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term exclusively refers to reusable vehicles . To date, no Earth-launched SSTO launch vehicles have ever been flown; orbital launches from Earth have been performed by either fully or partially expendable multi-stage rockets . The main projected advantage of the SSTO concept is elimination of

425-472: A certain altitude. VentureStar would have used a new metallic thermal protection system, safer and cheaper to maintain than the ceramic protection system used on the Space Shuttle. VentureStar's metallic heat shield would have eliminated 17,000 between-flight maintenance hours typically required to satisfactorily check (and replace if needed) the thousands of heat-resistant ceramic tiles that composed

510-401: A joint venture, which grew "from $ 100 million in revenue in 2000 to approximately $ 500 million in fiscal year 2007." In 2000, NG acquired Federal Data Corporation, Navia Aviation As, Comptek Research, Inc., and Sterling Software, Inc. In 2001, the company acquired Litton Industries , a shipbuilder and defense electronics systems provider for the U.S. Navy . During the acquisition process,

595-511: A liquid hydrogen tank made of carbon fiber composite material that had demonstrated the ability for repeated fuelings and simulated launch cycles. The tank was a simple cylinder, not the complex shape used for the X-33. Northrop Grumman concluded that these successful tests enabled the development and refinement of new manufacturing processes that allowed the company to build large composite tanks without an autoclave ; and design and engineering development of conformal fuel tanks appropriate for use on

680-715: A new intercontinental ballistic missile . As of the end of 2022, Northrop Grumman organized its business around four main sectors, each of which comprises two or more business areas: Aeronautics Systems, headquartered in Redondo Beach, California , at the historic Space Park , produces aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems and microelectronics for the U.S. and other nations. This includes surveillance and reconnaissance, protected communications, intelligence, battle management, strike operations, electronic warfare, to missile defense, Earth observation, space science and space exploration. The B-2 Spirit strategic bomber,

765-519: A new Delaware holding company, NNG, Inc. , was formed, which merged with Northrop Grumman through a one-for-one common shares exchange in April 2001. Both Northrop Grumman and Litton became subsidiaries of the new holding company. The original Northrop Grumman Corporation then changed its name to "Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation"; the holding company, NNG, Inc., changed its name to "Northrop Grumman Corporation". Later that year, Newport News Shipbuilding

850-569: A proposed SSTO. It is one of only a few prototype SSTO vehicles ever built. Several other prototypes were intended, including the DC-X2 (a half-scale prototype) and the DC-Y, a full-scale vehicle which would be capable of single stage insertion into orbit. Neither of these were built, but the project was taken over by NASA in 1995, and they built the DC-XA, an upgraded one-third scale prototype. This vehicle

935-488: A relatively small delta-v increase can be helpful, and outside assistance for a vehicle is therefore desirable. Proposed launch assists include: And on-orbit resources such as: Due to weight issues such as shielding, many nuclear propulsion systems are unable to lift their own weight, and hence are unsuitable for launching to orbit. However, some designs such as the Orion project and some nuclear thermal designs do have

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1020-555: A reusable vehicle must be able to reenter without damage, and land safely. While single-stage rockets were once thought to be beyond reach, advances in materials technology and construction techniques have shown them to be possible. For example, calculations show that the Titan II first stage, launched on its own, would have a 25-to-1 ratio of fuel to vehicle hardware. It has a sufficiently efficient engine to achieve orbit, but without carrying much payload. Hydrogen fuel might seem

1105-483: A single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. In the 2001 novella and 2015 novel Lash-Up by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson, the VentureStar prototype is converted into an armed spacecraft named Defender in order to protect US space assets from China, which is using a space gun to destroy GPS satellites . In John Varley 's novel Red Thunder and sequels, one of the major protagonists is a former VentureStar pilot. In

1190-693: A sufficiently efficient propulsion system and discontinued development. Single-stage-to-orbit is much easier to achieve on extraterrestrial bodies that have weaker gravitational fields and lower atmospheric pressure than Earth, such as the Moon and Mars, and has been achieved from the Moon by the Apollo program 's Lunar Module , by several robotic spacecraft of the Soviet Luna program , and by China's Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 lunar sample return missions. Before

1275-486: A vacuum bell in atmosphere would have disastrous consequences for the engine. Engines designed to fire in atmosphere therefore have to shorten the nozzle, only expanding the gasses to atmospheric pressure. The efficiency losses due to the smaller bell are usually mitigated via staging, as upper stage engines such as the Rocketdyne J-2 do not have to fire until atmospheric pressure is negligible, and can therefore use

1360-488: Is an important concept in the engineering of a rocket. However, mass fraction may have little to do with the costs of a rocket, as the costs of fuel are very small when compared to the costs of the engineering program as a whole. As a result, a cheap rocket with a poor mass fraction may be able to deliver more payload to orbit with a given amount of money than a more complicated, more efficient rocket. Many vehicles are only narrowly suborbital, so practically anything that gives

1445-519: Is because of both the low density and the additional insulation required to minimize boiloff (a problem which does not occur with kerosene and many other fuels). The low density of hydrogen further affects the design of the rest of the vehicle: pumps and pipework need to be much larger in order to pump the fuel to the engine. The result is the thrust/weight ratio of hydrogen-fueled engines is 30–50% lower than comparable engines using denser fuels. This inefficiency indirectly affects gravity losses as well;

1530-460: Is considered to be marginally possible to launch a single-stage-to-orbit chemically fueled spacecraft from Earth. The principal complicating factors for SSTO from Earth are: high orbital velocity of over 7,400 metres per second (27,000 km/h; 17,000 mph); the need to overcome Earth's gravity, especially in the early stages of flight; and flight within Earth's atmosphere , which limits speed in

1615-787: Is forecasted to enter test flights as early as late 2023, with the United States Air Force forecasted to acquire operational aircraft as early as 2030. It was reported in October 2023 that taxi tests for the B-21 Raider were underway. In May 2024, Northrop Grumman unveiled the Manta Ray, an underwater drone developed for the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA). The drone, which resembles its namesake sea creature,

1700-576: Is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. The firm ranked No. 101 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations. Northrop Grumman and its industry partners have won the Collier Trophy nine times, most recently for the development and production of the James Webb Space Telescope , an orbiting observatory launched in 2021. Northrop Grumman leads

1785-1056: The B-1 Lancer . Mission Systems produces and maintains the AWACS aerial surveillance systems for the U.S., the United Kingdom , NATO, Japan, and others. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the development and integration of the Air Force's $ 2-billion Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program . Northrop Grumman also supports the U.S. ballistic missile program, integrates various command, control and intelligence systems, and provides technical and management services, to governmental and military customers, all with an emphasis on cybersecurity. Many other smaller products are made by Northrop Grumman, such as night vision goggles and secure communications equipment. The Defense Systems sector, headquartered in McLean, Virginia (with

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1870-540: The Cygnus spacecraft. Until 2020 the firm was developing the OmegA space launch vehicle, intended to carry the U.S. government's national security satellites into space. With Northrop Grumman's reorganization of its divisions effective January 1, 2020, NGIS was split, with most of the sector merging with other Northrop Grumman businesses into a new Space Systems sector. On August 8, 2022, Northrop Grumman announced it

1955-770: The E-8C Joint STARS surveillance aircraft , the RQ-4 Global Hawk , and the T-38 Talon supersonic trainer are used by the US Air Force . The US Army uses Northrop Grumman's RQ-5 Hunter unmanned air vehicle, which has been in operational use since 1995. The U.S. Navy uses Northrop Grumman-built aerial vehicles such as the BQM-74 Chukar , RQ-4 Global Hawk-based MQ-4C Triton , MQ-8 Fire Scout , Grumman C-2 Greyhound , Grumman E-2 Hawkeye , and

2040-1054: The EA-6B Prowler . Northrop Grumman provides major components and assemblies for different aircraft, such as the F/A-18 Hornet , the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , the EA-18G Growler , and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II . Aerospace systems also serves as the contractor for numerous space payloads and is the prime contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope . Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, headquartered in Linthicum, Maryland , creates military radar, sensors, and related products, including C4I radar systems for air defense , Airspace Management radar systems such as AMASS , and battlefield surveillance systems like

2125-723: The Northrop Corporation was reincorporated in Delaware in 1985. Northrop made a series of light-weight fighter aircraft such as the F-5 , YF-17 , and F-20. However, Northrop was best known for it experimental flying wing aircraft, the XB-35 and YB-49 of the late 1940s and early 1950s. These flying wing aircraft, while unsuccessful, would pave the way for the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, on which Northrop

2210-603: The SSME ) + 10 x turboramjets. Around 1985 the NASP project was intended to launch a scramjet vehicle into orbit, but funding was stopped and the project cancelled. At around the same time, the HOTOL tried to use precooled jet engine technology, but failed to show significant advantages over rocket technology. The DC-X, short for Delta Clipper Experimental, was an uncrewed one-third scale vertical takeoff and landing demonstrator for

2295-496: The United Kingdom paid $ 1.2 billion in a contract with the company to provide maintenance of its AWACS radar. On June 7, 2018, the acquisition of Orbital ATK was completed, and the former company was absorbed in Northrop Grumman as a new business sector called Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. With this acquisition, Northrop Grumman got more involved in the space industry, including the construction and launch of

2380-463: The 1990s) which were never constructed include: Star-raker : In 1979 Rockwell International unveiled a concept for a 100-ton payload heavy-lift multicycle airbreather ramjet/ cryogenic rocket engine , horizontal takeoff/horizontal landing single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane named Star-Raker , designed to launch heavy Space-based solar power satellites into a 300 nautical mile Earth orbit. Star-raker would have had 3 x LOX/LH2 rocket engines (based on

2465-1256: The Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL). Tactical aircraft sensors include the AN/APG-68 radar, the AN/APG-80 AESA radar, and the AN/APG-83 AESA radar upgrade for the F-16 Fighting Falcon , the AN/APG-77 AESA radar for the F-22 Raptor , and the AN/APG-81 AESA radar for the F-35 Lightning II, and the AN/AAQ-37 electro-optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) for the F-35, and the APQ-164 Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) radar for

2550-775: The Antares rocket, which will be known as the Antares 330 . Northrop will provide the A330s upper stage, avionics, software and launch site operations. Firefly will supply seven engines and build the A330s largest structure, the first stage booster. Northrop and Firefly will also jointly develop the MLV. Remotec, a Tennessee-based subsidiary, is a manufacturer of remote control vehicles for explosive ordnance disposal and hazardous material handling. A UK-based subsidiary, Park Air Systems, provides VHF and UHF ground-to-air communications systems for

2635-700: The Colombian jungle. The fourth employee, Tom Janis, had been killed by the FARC shortly after the crash in 2003. In January 2008, Northrop Grumman combined its Newport News and Ship Systems sectors into a new business unit named Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. On March 31, 2011, this was spun off as Huntington Ingalls Industries , Inc. ( NYSE :  HII ). In November 2010, NASA selected Northrop Grumman for consideration of potential contract awards for heavy lift launch vehicle system concepts, and propulsion technologies. From 2013, Northrop Grumman participates in

VentureStar - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-603: The DARPA Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program, and received $ 2.9 million for Phase 1 and $ 19 million for Phase 2. The TERN program attempts to launch and recover a UAV from mid-size ships to provide long distance intelligence gathering. In July 2013, Northrop Grumman won a training-simulation contract potentially worth $ 490 million to support the U.S. Air Force 's next-generation aerial warfare virtual-training network. As of 2018, Northrop Grumman became

2805-571: The DC-X, often said that he thought the first successful orbital SSTO would more likely be fueled by propane. Some SSTO concepts use the same engine for all altitudes, which is a problem for traditional engines with a bell-shaped nozzle . Depending on the atmospheric pressure, different bell shapes are required. Engines designed to operate in a vacuum have large bells, allowing the exhaust gasses to expand to near vacuum pressures, thereby raising efficiency. Due to an effect known as Flow separation , using

2890-689: The Department of Defense and Department of Justice. That same year, it acquired Inter-National Research Institute Inc. In 1999, the company acquired Teledyne Ryan , developer of surveillance systems and unmanned aircraft, California Microwave, Inc., and the Data Procurement Corporation. On March 19, 1999, Northrop Grumman revised its fourth-quarter results to a net loss because of problems related to its dealings with start-up satellite launch company Kistler Aerospace Corp. In 1999, Northrop Grumman and SAIC created AMSEC LLC as

2975-850: The Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter (DRASH) in New York, as part of the U.S. Army's Standard Integrated Command Post System program. Northrop Grumman can trace its lineage back to the beginning of the 20th century when the Grumman Corporation was founded on Long Island , New York. Here, Leroy R. Grumman established the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in December 1929. By 1939, the company has expanded and relocated to Bethpage, New York. During World War II

3060-564: The Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI). From 1990 to 2003, before the merger with Grumman in 1994, Kent Kresa was the CEO of the company, who led the serial-acquisition strategy with a total of 15 additional acquisitions from 1994 to 2003, including Litton , Logicon , Westinghouse 's defense electronics business, Ryan Aeronautical and Newport News Shipbuilding , and TRW. He then retired in 2003 at age 65. In 2003 Ronald Sugar ,

3145-511: The Shuttle heat shield. VentureStar was expected to be safer than most modern rockets. Whereas most modern rockets fail catastrophically when an engine fails, VentureStar would have a thrust reserve in each engine in the event of an emergency. For example, if an engine on VentureStar failed during ascent, another engine would shut off to counterbalance the failed thrust, and each of the remaining working engines could throttle up to safely continue

3230-470: The Space Shuttle required much longer runways than available at most public airports. The VentureStar program was cancelled due to development cost concerns accompanied by technical problems and failures in the X-33 program, a program which was intended as proof-of-concept for some of the critical technologies that were to be implemented in the VentureStar. The failure during a test of the X-33's complex, multi-lobe composite-structure cryogenic hydrogen tank

3315-563: The acquisition was approved by Orbital ATK stockholders and on June 6, 2018, the merger closed after final FTC approval. The acquired company assets and naming were absorbed and become a division named Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. In June 2020, NASA granted a $ 935 million contract to Northrop Grumman for the Lunar Gateway Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, based on its Cygnus cargo spacecraft. In July 2022, Northrop subcontracted Solstar to provide

3400-425: The atmosphere to reduce the take-off weight of the vehicle. Some of the issues with this approach are: Thus with for example scramjet designs (e.g. X-43 ) the mass budgets do not seem to close for orbital launch. Similar issues occur with single-stage vehicles attempting to carry conventional jet engines to orbit—the weight of the jet engines is not compensated sufficiently by the reduction in propellant. On

3485-662: The atmosphere when it is at low altitude, and then using onboard liquid oxygen after switching to the closed cycle rocket engine at high altitude, the McDonnell Douglas DC-X , the Lockheed Martin X-33 and VentureStar which was intended to replace the Space Shuttle, and the Roton SSTO , which is a helicopter that can get to orbit. However, despite showing some promise, none of them have come close to achieving orbit yet due to problems with finding

VentureStar - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-469: The atmosphere, and achieving a high enough mass-ratio to carry sufficient propellant to achieve orbit, plus a meaningful payload weight. Air-breathing designs typically fly at supersonic or hypersonic speeds, and usually include a rocket engine for the final burn for orbit. Whether rocket-powered or air-breathing, a reusable vehicle must be rugged enough to survive multiple round trips into space without adding excessive weight or maintenance. In addition

3655-588: The break in Antares manufacturing caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in addition to salvaging the Antares rocket series, the cost-sharing deal also helps ensure NASA's cargo missions to the International Space Station keep flying regularly and brings muscle to Firefly's plan to build a larger rocket called Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV). Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace will jointly produce an upgraded version of

3740-508: The carbon fiber hydrogen fuel tank. There were a number of other technologies that were part of the program, including the linear aerospike rocket engine . One point of praise was the metallic thermal protection system developed by BF Goodrich . VentureStar's engineering and design would have offered numerous advantages over the Space Shuttle , notably considerable savings in time and materials, as well as increased safety. VentureStar

3825-484: The civil and defense markets. Northrop Grumman has also worked closely with Antenna Associates, Inc., a manufacturer of Identification friend or foe (IFF)/ Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) antennas located in Massachusetts. In August 2007, Northrop Grumman acquired Scaled Composites in which it had previously owned a 40% stake. In 2008, Northrop Grumman began working with DHS Systems LLC, manufacturer of

3910-533: The company built most US Navy aircraft. After the war it branched out into making the first aluminum canoes using left-over materials no longer needed for aircraft. Later the firm created a myriad of products such as ballistic missiles , all-weather radars, the Apollo Lunar Module , land and sea-based fighter aircraft and Stealth bombers . Founded in California in 1939 by Jack Northrop ,

3995-403: The contract went to rival Lockheed Martin on August 31, 2006. In 2006, Northrop Grumman had intended to bid for the U.S. Air Force's Next-Generation Bomber . Though it has not built a large manned aircraft since wrapping up B-2 Spirit production in the 1990s, the company has "been working hard to turn that perception around, with the skills and capabilities that back it up." However, by 2009,

4080-506: The development of the B-21 Raider , a long-range, stealth strategic bomber that can drop conventional and nuclear weapons ; it will replace Northrop's own B-2 Spirit , the world's only known stealth bomber. Among its other projects are the production of the solid rocket boosters for NASA's Space Launch System program. It was the sole bidder on the Air Force's Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program , which aims to develop and build

4165-529: The early stages of flight due to drag, and influences engine performance. Advances in rocketry in the 21st century have resulted in a substantial fall in the cost to launch a kilogram of payload to either low Earth orbit or the International Space Station , reducing the main projected advantage of the SSTO concept. Notable single stage to orbit concepts include Skylon , which used the hybrid-cycle SABRE engine that can use oxygen from

4250-423: The exhaust gases down to near vacuum pressures. As a result, these engine bells are counterproductive due to their excess weight. Some SSTO concepts use very high pressure engines which permit high ratios to be used from ground level. This gives good performance, negating the need for more complex solutions. Some designs for SSTO attempt to use airbreathing jet engines that collect oxidizer and reaction mass from

4335-543: The group into its Peraton subsidiary. The sale closed in February 2021. The Mars Ascent Propulsion System for Mars sample-return mission Ascent Vehicle contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman on March 5, 2021. For this Northrop Grumman to make a 3–meter long, two-stage , solid-fueled Mars ascent rocket for the Mars Sample Return mission. This mission is to collect Perseverance's samples for return to Earth. In August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced it

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4420-440: The hardware replacement inherent in expendable launch systems. However, the non-recurring costs associated with design, development, research and engineering (DDR&E) of reusable SSTO systems are much higher than expendable systems due to the substantial technical challenges of SSTO, assuming that those technical issues can in fact be solved. SSTO vehicles may also require a significantly higher degree of regular maintenance. It

4505-437: The larger bell. One possible solution would be to use an aerospike engine , which can be effective in a wide range of ambient pressures. In fact, a linear aerospike engine was to be used in the X-33 design. Other solutions involve using multiple engines and other altitude adapting designs such as double-mu bells or extensible bell sections . Still, at very high altitudes, the extremely large engine bells tend to expand

4590-430: The last drop of specific impulse, and shaving off the last pound, costs money and/or reduces reliability. The Tsiolkovsky rocket equation expresses the maximum change in velocity any single rocket stage can achieve: where: Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense company. With 95,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $ 30 billion, it

4675-543: The main challenge is achieving a high enough mass-ratio to carry sufficient propellant to achieve orbit , plus a meaningful payload weight. One possibility is to give the rocket an initial speed with a space gun , as planned in the Quicklaunch project. For air-breathing SSTO, the main challenge is system complexity and associated research and development costs, material science , and construction techniques necessary for surviving sustained high-speed flight within

4760-495: The mass ratio to delta-v curve is very steep to reach orbit in a single stage, and this makes a 10% difference to the mass ratio on top of the tankage and pump savings. The overall effect is that there is surprisingly little difference in overall performance between SSTOs that use hydrogen and those that use denser fuels, except that hydrogen vehicles may be rather more expensive to develop and buy. Careful studies have shown that some dense fuels (for example liquid propane ) exceed

4845-684: The mission. Unlike the Space Shuttle, whose solid rocket boosters produced chemical wastes, primarily hydrogen chloride , during launch, VentureStar's exhaust would have been composed of only water vapor, since VentureStar's main fuels would have been only liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen . This would have given VentureStar the benefit of being environmentally clean. VentureStar's simpler design would have excluded hypergolic propellants and even hydraulics , relying instead upon electrical power for flight controls, doors and landing gear. Because of its lighter design, VentureStar would have been able to land at almost any major airport in an emergency, whereas

4930-472: The new company acquired substantially all of the defense and electronics systems business of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghouse Electronic Systems , a major manufacturer of radar systems, for $ 2.9 billion, and Xetron Corporation . In 1997, the defense computer contractor Logicon was added, which had acquired Geodynamics Corporation in March 1996 and Syscon Corporation in February 1995. Northrop

5015-477: The obvious fuel for SSTO vehicles. When burned with oxygen , hydrogen gives the highest specific impulse of any commonly used fuel: around 450 seconds, compared with up to 350 seconds for kerosene . Hydrogen has the following advantages: However, hydrogen also has these disadvantages: These issues can be dealt with, but at extra cost. While kerosene tanks can be 1% of the weight of their contents, hydrogen tanks often must weigh 10% of their contents. This

5100-482: The other hand, LACE-like precooled airbreathing designs such as the Skylon spaceplane (and ATREX ) which transition to rocket thrust at rather lower speeds (Mach 5.5) do seem to give, on paper at least, an improved orbital mass fraction over pure rockets (even multistage rockets) sufficiently to hold out the possibility of full reusability with better payload fraction. It is important to note that mass fraction

5185-499: The performance of hydrogen fuel when used in an SSTO launch vehicle by 10% for the same dry weight. In the 1960s Philip Bono investigated single-stage, VTVL tripropellant rockets , and showed that it could improve payload size by around 30%. Operational experience with the DC-X experimental rocket has caused a number of SSTO advocates to reconsider hydrogen as a satisfactory fuel. The late Max Hunter, while employing hydrogen fuel in

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5270-423: The potential to launch vehicles into orbit, single stage. In practice, this area is not possible with current technology. The design space constraints of SSTO vehicles were described by rocket design engineer Robert Truax : Using similar technologies (i.e., the same propellants and structural fraction), a two-stage-to-orbit vehicle will always have a better payload-to-weight ratio than a single stage designed for

5355-528: The primary contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope . In October 2015, the US Military announced it had awarded Northrop Grumman the contract for the successor to the B-1 and B-52 , subsequently identified as the B-21 . The initial value is $ 21.4 billion, and could eventually be worth up to $ 80 billion. In September 2017, Northrop announced its intention to acquire missile and rocket manufacturer Orbital ATK Inc for $ 9.2 billion: $ 7.8 billion in cash plus $ 1.4 billion in net debt. On November 29, 2017,

5440-408: The same mission, in most cases, a very much better [payload-to-weight ratio]. Only when the structural factor approaches zero [very little vehicle structure weight] does the payload/weight ratio of a single-stage rocket approach that of a two-stage. A slight miscalculation and the single-stage rocket winds up with no payload. To get any at all, technology needs to be stretched to the limit. Squeezing out

5525-432: The second half of the twentieth century, very little research was conducted into space travel. During the 1960s, some of the first concept designs for this kind of craft began to emerge. One of the earliest SSTO concepts was the expendable One stage Orbital Space Truck (OOST) proposed by Philip Bono , an engineer for Douglas Aircraft Company . A reusable version named ROOST was also proposed. Another early SSTO concept

5610-433: The tanker program and in March 2010, Northrop Grumman announced it was withdrawing from the competition, deeming the revised requirements to be weighted in favor of the Boeing KC-46 . On January 1, 2006, Northrop Grumman opened its business sector called 'Technical Services'. Northrop Grumman and Boeing collaborated on a design concept for NASA 's upcoming Orion spacecraft (previously the Crew Exploration Vehicle), but

5695-890: The teams working on that project were dispersed, as USAF's focus turned to a long-range strike instead. Northrop Grumman was one of two teams competing for the Long Range Strike Bomber , and in October 2015 won the contract for the Long Range Strike Bomber. On July 20, 2007, Northrop Grumman became the sole owner of Burt Rutan 's Scaled Composites . In 2007, Northrop Grumman created 'National Workforce Centers' as an alternative to offshoring . Locations are Auburn , Alabama; Corsicana , Texas; Fairmont , West Virginia; Helena , Montana; Johnstown , Pennsylvania; and Lebanon, Virginia . The Rapid City, South Dakota location closed in January 2012. In July 2008, three of four Northrop Grumman employees ( Thomas Howes , Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell ) were freed during Operation Jaque after five years of captivity following their aircraft crash in

5780-402: The television series Star Trek: Enterprise , an operational VentureStar spaceplane is included in the opening credits as part of the history of human spaceflight. In the television series Space Island One , a fleet of VentureStars resupply the titular commercial space station. Single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit ( SSTO ) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of

5865-436: The vehicle has to hold itself up on rocket power until it reaches orbit. The lower excess thrust of the hydrogen engines due to the lower thrust/weight ratio means that the vehicle must ascend more steeply, and so less thrust acts horizontally. Less horizontal thrust results in taking longer to reach orbit, and gravity losses are increased by at least 300 metres per second (1,100 km/h; 670 mph). While not appearing large,

5950-438: The wings to enhance the propulsion provided by its gliding system, which glides forward while moving up and down in the water column by changing its buoyancy. With an emphasis on minimal human oversight, the creation of the Manta Ray represents a significant advancement in unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) technology. In September 2024, Northrop Grumman won the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) competition to develop and build

6035-557: The wireless-enabling technology to enable a Wi-Fi access for employees and equipment in the module. In September 2020, Northrop Grumman won a $ 298 million sole-source contract for the Evolved Strategic Satcom program, an anti-jam communications satellite program intended to replace the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite program where Northrop Grumman was a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin . In December 2020, Northrop sold its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital for $ 3.4 billion in cash. Veritas placed

6120-601: The world. In 1994, Northrop Aircraft bought Grumman Aerospace , which built the Apollo Lunar Module to create Northrop Grumman (NG) at a cost of $ 2.1 billion. The company purchased the remaining 51% interest in Vought Aircraft Company (Vought) in August 1994 for $ 130 million taking full control of the company after it had purchased an initial 49% interest in September 1992 for $ 45 million. In 1996,

6205-466: Was a reusable launch vehicle named NEXUS which was proposed by Krafft Arnold Ehricke in the early 1960s. It was one of the largest spacecraft ever conceptualized with a diameter of over 50 metres and the capability to lift up to 2000 short tons into Earth orbit, intended for missions to further out locations in the Solar System such as Mars . The North American Air Augmented VTOVL from 1963

6290-514: Was a similarly large craft which would have used ramjets to decrease the liftoff mass of the vehicle by removing the need for large amounts of liquid oxygen while traveling through the atmosphere. From 1965, Robert Salkeld investigated various single stage to orbit winged spaceplane concepts. He proposed a vehicle which would burn hydrocarbon fuel while in the atmosphere and then switch to hydrogen fuel for increasing efficiency once in space. Further examples of Bono's early concepts (prior to

6375-727: Was added. On November 1, 2001, Northrop Grumman restated its third-quarter profit after halting work on two ships for American Classic Voyages , which filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2002, Northrop Grumman acquired TRW Inc. , which had acquired Braddock Dunn & McDonald (BDM) in 1997, and became the Space Technology sector based in Redondo Beach , California, and the Mission Systems sector based in Reston, Virginia , with sole interest in their space systems and laser systems manufacturing. The Aeronautical division

6460-458: Was designed to carry out long-duration, long-range military missions, including extended loitering on the sea bottom. The development of the Manta Ray posed several technical challenges, including overcoming the corrosive nature of seawater, preventing sea life from interfering with moving components, and operating under conditions where electromagnetic radiation, including sunlight, does not propagate well. The craft uses two four-bladed propellers on

6545-427: Was expected to launch satellites into orbit at $ 2,000 USD per kilogram, 1/10th of the Space Shuttle's cost of $ 20,000 USD per kilogram. Readying VentureStar for flight would have dramatically differed from that of the Space Shuttle. Unlike the Space Shuttle orbiter , which had to be lifted and assembled together with several other heavy components (a large external tank , plus two solid rocket boosters ), VentureStar

6630-809: Was lost when it landed with only three of its four landing pads deployed, which caused it to tip over on its side and explode. The project has not been continued since. From 1999 to 2001 Rotary Rocket attempted to build a SSTO vehicle called the Roton. It received a large amount of media attention and a working sub-scale prototype was completed, but the design was largely impractical. There have been various approaches to SSTO, including pure rockets that are launched and land vertically, air-breathing scramjet -powered vehicles that are launched and land horizontally, nuclear-powered vehicles, and even jet-engine -powered vehicles that can fly into orbit and return landing like an airliner, completely intact. For rocket-powered SSTO,

6715-446: Was moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine. The move of Antares production fully to the U.S. will happen through a partnership with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace . Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian RD-181 engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket’s main body was manufactured by Ukraine’s Yuzhmash State Enterprise . Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider

6800-447: Was moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine. The move of Antares production fully to the U.S. will happen through a partnership with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace . Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian RD-181 engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket's main body was manufactured by Ukraine's Yuzhmash State Enterprise . The new arrangement mainly resolves

6885-534: Was one of the main reasons for the cancellation of both the X-33 and the VentureStar. Ultimately, the VentureStar program required too many technical advances at too high a cost to be viable. Examples: One of the technological barriers at the time was the hydrogen fuel tank. One positive was that several years later the performance requirements for such a hydrogen tank were achieved, as NASA gained more experience with cryogenic carbon fiber fuel tanks. On September 7, 2004, Northrop Grumman and NASA engineers unveiled

6970-624: Was sold to Goodrich , and the automotive divisions were spun off and retained the TRW name. There were 15 acquisitions from 1994 to 2003. Northrop Grumman partnered with EADS from the mid-2000s to offer the KC-30 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft in the U.S. Air Force's KC-X tanker competition. In February 2008 the U.S. Air Force chose KC-30, but in September 2008 the Defense Department suspended

7055-563: Was the prime contractor on the radical YF-23 which was one of two candidates for the Advanced Tactical Fighter but would eventually lose to the F-22 Raptor . Northrop later partnered with Lockheed on the F-35 and serves as a principal member of the Lockheed Martin industry led team. In 1998, a merger between Northrop Grumman and competitor Lockheed Martin was considered but abandoned after resistance from

7140-456: Was the prime contractor. After the end of the Cold War , Northrop made a series of acquisitions, buying Grumman Aerospace , Westinghouse and TRW Inc. in addition to a number of other enterprises. In 2018, Northrop Grumman completed the purchase of Orbital ATK , which has since been renamed to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Northrop Grumman is one of the largest defense contractors in

7225-480: Was to be simply inspected in a hangar similarly to an airplane. Also unlike the Space Shuttle, VentureStar would not have relied upon solid rocket boosters , which had to be hauled out of the ocean and then refurbished after each launch. Furthermore, design specifications called for the use of linear aerospike engines that maintain thrust efficiency at all altitudes, whereas the Shuttle relied upon conventional nozzle engines which achieve maximum efficiency at only

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