Cygnus ready for first launch on Falcon 9

A Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket for the first time, a combination that required more changes to the rocket than to the spacecraft. NASA announced at a Jan. 26 briefing that it was targeting Jan. 30 at 12:07 p.m. Eastern for the launch of the NG-20 cargo mission from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40. That is a one-day slip from previous plans, which the agency said was to “accommodate launch pad readiness.” If Cygnus launches that day, it will arrive at the International Space Station early Feb. 1. The launch marks the first time Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft has flown on Falcon 9. All previous launches of Cygnus have been on Northrop’s own Antares launch vehicle with the exception of two missions that launched on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 after an Antares launch failure in 2014. Northrop plans to launch at least three Cygnus missions on Falcon 9 rockets as it works with Firefly Aerospace on a new version of the Antares, replacing the Ukrainian-built first stage powered by Russian engines with a stage developed by Firefly using its own engines. That vehicle, the Antares 330, is slated to begin launches as soon as mid-2025. The shift to the Falcon 9 has been relatively smooth for Northrop. “We didn’t really have to make any modifications to the Cygnus,” said Cyrus Dhalla, vice president and general manager of tactical space systems at Northrop Grumman, during the briefing. The company did make minor changes to the cargo loading process, which he attributed to doing it in a new facility with different equipment.

The NG-20 Cygnus cargo spacecraft being encapsulated for launch on a Falcon 9. Credit: SpaceX

The shift in launch vehicles doesn’t alter the capabilities of the Cygnus, he added. The NG-20 mission will carry a little more than 3,700 kilograms of cargo, the capacity of the current version of the vehicle.

SpaceX, though, did have to make changes to accommodate Cygnus, specifically its ability for “late load” of cargo within 24 hours of launch. The Antares has a “pop top” opening at the top of the rocket’s payload fairing, allowing access to the Cygnus inside for cargo loading after the spacecraft has been encapsulated.

To provide a similar late load capability for Falcon 9 launches of Cygnus, SpaceX created what Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, called a “gigadoor” in the fairing of the Falcon 9. That is a door 1.5 by 1.2 meters in the side of the fairing that can be opened to provide environmentally controlled access to the Cygnus inside.

“This will be the first time we’ve done that,” he said, as SpaceX’s own Dragon spacecraft launches without a fairing. “It’s taken a lot of modifications on our part to get this hardware ready to go fly.” He added that putting the door in the payload fairing does not affect SpaceX’s ability to recover and reuse it.

“We really appreciate how SpaceX has worked with us to accommodate the flow of cargo and integration, and we’ve been able to reuse a lot of our procedures,” Dhalla said.

Besides the development of the payload fairing door for Cygnus launches, SpaceX has been testing modifications to its transporter erector at Launch Complex 39A, enabling it to load liquid methane and oxygen propellants. That is required for the upcoming launch of the IM-1 lunar lander by Intuitive Machines, which will be fueled on the pad, inside the payload fairing, shortly before launch.

Gerstenmaier said SpaceX was doing testing of that equipment to ensure it is ready for the IM-1 launch, currently projected for mid-February. “That work is pretty much on track,” he said. “It’s a lot of interesting integration but, as you see even with this Northrop Grumman 20 mission, we at SpaceX like to do innovative and creative things.”

Space Development Agency awards Northrop Grumman $732 million contract for 38 satellites and support services

The Space Development Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a $732 million contract for 38 communications satellites that will be part of the U.S. military’s low Earth orbit space architecture, the company announced Oct. 30. These satellites are for the portion of SDA’s mesh network known as Transport Layer Tranche 2 Alpha that will have a total of 100 satellites. The agency selected York Space Systems to build the other 62 spacecraft. Northrop Grumman’s contract includes ground systems and five years of operations and sustainment. The agreement includes an incentive payment for on-time delivery. The Alpha satellites are projected to launch in late 2026. Northrop won order for Alpha and Beta satellites. SDA, an organization under the U.S. Space Force, is building a layered network of military satellites. The Transport Layer will serve as a tactical network to move data to users around the world, transmitting classified data such as early warnings of missile launches. Alpha satellites carry optical communications terminals, Ka-band communications and Link 16 data transmission payloads. Transport Layer Tranche 2 also includes 72 Beta satellites that SDA recently ordered from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. These carry more complex communications payloads.

Rendering of Space Development Agency's Transport Layer Tranche 2 Alpha satellites. Credit: Northrop Grumman

 

Northrop Grumman to date has won orders from SDA for 132 satellites for the Transport and the Tracking Layer. Both layers are designed to interoperate in space using a common data standard allowing satellites made by various manufacturers to communicate with one another.

Space Development Agency awards $1.5 billion to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for 72 satellites

The Space Development Agency announced Aug. 21 it awarded contracts worth $1.5 billion to Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to build and operate 72 satellites. The Space Development Agency (SDA), an organization under the U.S. Space Force, is building a mesh network of military satellites in low Earth orbit. The 72 satellites will make up a portion of SDA’s network known as Tranche 2 Transport Layer. SDA is building a large constellation called the proliferated warfighter space architecture that includes a Transport Layer of interconnected communications satellites and a Tracking Layer of missile-detection and warning sensor satellites. Northrop Grumman’s contract for 36 satellites is worth approximately $733 million. The agreement with Lockheed Martin, also for 36 satellites, is worth $816 million, SDA said. Transport Layer Tranche 2 “will provide global communications access and deliver persistent regional encrypted connectivity in support of warfighter missions around the globe,” the agency said. The 72 satellites ordered from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are the “Beta” portion of Tranche 2 Transport Layer. They will be deployed in orbital planes of 12 satellites each, with the first plane projected to launch in September 2026.

Rendering of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta data transport satellites. Credit: Northrop Grumman

Commercial-like model

SDA uses a commercial-like model to acquire satellites, incrementally adding new technologies as they become available, in contrast to DoD’s traditional method of funding one large acquisition over many years.

“We are now solidly in the procurement phase for Tranche 2 of the PWSA to support a 2026 delivery,” said Derek Tournear, SDA director. “Tranche 2 brings global persistence for all our capabilities in Tranche 1 and adds advanced tactical data links and future proliferated missions.

The Beta variant of the Tranche 2 Transport Layer vehicles are similar to the 126 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites that SDA ordered last year from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and York Space.

The Tranche 2 contracts make Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman the largest awardees of SDA satellite contracts. In February 2022, SDA selected Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and York Space Systems to each produce 42 satellites for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer. Northrop Grumman in July 2022 also won a contract for 14 missile-tracking satellites for SDA’s Tracking Layer Tranche 1.

To date Lockheed Martin has won SDA contracts for 88 satellites and Northrop Grumman has won orders for 92 satellites.

DoD experiment flying to International Space Station to collect data for missile-tracking sensors

The infrared imaging payload — called PIRPL (short for prototype infrared payload) — is a 110-pound multispectral camera that will collect data on the low Earth orbit environment. A Northrop Grumman spacecraft scheduled to launch Aug. 10 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station will deliver 8,200 pounds of crew supplies, hardware and science experiments. Among the science payloads on board Cygnus NG-16 is an infrared imaging sensor that will collect data on the low Earth orbit environment. The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency will use the data to develop thermal sensors that can detect hypersonic missiles and other advanced weapons while in flight. Cygnus NG-16 will fly on a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. It is scheduled to rendezvous with the ISS on Aug. 12. The infrared imaging payload — called PIRPL (short for prototype infrared payload) — is a 110-pound multispectral camera also made by Northrop Grumman under a $13.8 million contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the Missile Defense Agency. This is SDA’s first experiment in support of its Tracking Layer, a planned constellation of small sensor satellites in low Earth orbit. “Upon arrival at the Space Station, PIRPL will begin collecting infrared data and expanding detection capabilities that will aid in the development of algorithms for the next generation of tracking satellites,” Northrop Grumman said Aug. 9 in a news release.

For the NG-16 mission, the Cygnus spacecraft will launch aboard the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, carrying approximately 8,200 pounds of supplies, equipment and experiments for the International Space Station. Credit: Northrop Grumman

PIRPL will gather imagery through the entire NG-16 mission expected to last about three months. After Cygnus leaves the space station, PIRPL will be released from the spacecraft and briefly operate in free flying mode so it can collect more data from different angles before it burns up in the atmosphere, an SDA official said during a call with reporters. 

The imagery “will help us understand what Earth infrared backgrounds look like from this type of orbit,” the SDA official said.

Current U.S. military missile-warning satellites have powerful infrared sensors that can detect ballistic missile launches from geosynchronous orbits 22,000 miles above Earth. SDA’s Tracking Layer satellites will be in lower orbits at about 600 miles so the agency needs sample data to develop algorithms that can identify targets amid the clutter.

“One of the objectives is to look at what we can do from LEO orbits which are fairly new for these types of missions,” the official said. “We need to understand what the atmosphere, clouds, earth surface, land and ocean all look like at various times of day and night.”

SDA and the Missile Defense Agency want to “show that we can do those missions at a lower Earth orbit, that we are able to get much closer to the threats,” the agency official said. Another reason for the PIRPL experiment is to test how sensors perform when they’re moving at very fast speeds in low orbits, compared to current staring sensors on geostationary satellites.

“We call that a complex background,” the SDA official said of low Earth orbit. “We need to check whether LEO data can be processed successfully to do the same missions that we do well in high orbit.”

Gilmour Space and Northrop Grumman sign MoU to Grow Sovereign Capabilities in Australia

Australian rocket company, Gilmour Space Technologies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with global aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corporation to work on developing sovereign space capabilities in Australia. "Northrop Grumman aims to lead industry support in developing Australian sovereign space capabilities to help meet the needs of defence and realise the Australian Space Agency vision," said Chris Deeble, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Australia. "Our approach is consistent with the Australian government's recently announced Modern Manufacturing Strategy, to make space hardware in Australia while securing sovereign capabilities in priority areas that includes defence and space." As an initial task under the MOU, Northrop Grumman will join Gilmour Space as an industry partner on a previously announced Cooperative Research Centre Project (CRC-P) to develop composite rocket tanks for low-cost space transport. The CRC-P, which includes Griffith University and Etamax Engineering, will manufacture composite tanks up to two metres in diameter and trial them in rocket flights, in an effort to reduce weight and increase reliability. Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmour said the company is excited to work with Northrop Grumman on this opportunity. "It is great to gain the support of Northrop Grumman who, through this investment, have further demonstrated their commitment to grow Australian space capability."

The next five years will be a critical time for Australia to develop a world-class sovereign space industry.

"With the right support, we will see innovative, well capitalised, and highly capable Australian space companies like Gilmour Space emerge as future Australian space primes. We look forward to working with Northrop Grumman as we work to launch our first commercial payloads to orbit in 2022."

Northrop Grumman snags $187 million to design NASA's lunar Gateway habitat for astronauts

NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman $187 million to design the habitat module for the space agency's lunar Gateway, a planned moon-orbiting space station for astronauts. We learned last year that NASA had tapped Virginia-based Northrop Grumman to build Gateway's pressurized crew cabin, called the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO). The company will base HALO on its Cygnus spacecraft, which has been flying contracted robotic cargo missions to the International Space Station for NASA since 2014. On Friday (June 5), the space agency announced some terms of the deal: Northrop Grumman will receive $187 million to fund HALO's design through a key milestone called preliminary design review, which is expected to be complete by the end of this year. "This contract award is another significant milestone in our plan to build robust and sustainable lunar operations," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "The Gateway is a key component of NASA’s long-term Artemis architecture, and the HALO capability furthers our plans for human exploration at the moon in preparation for future human missions to Mars." Artemis is NASA's program of crewed lunar exploration, which aims to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole in 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on and around the cosmic body by 2028. As Bridenstine noted, the agency envisions such work paving the way for the next giant leap: getting astronauts to Mars, which NASA aims to do in the 2030s.

Gateway likely won't be involved in the 2024 landing, but NASA sees the mini space station as crucial to its longer-term lunar plans. The outpost will serve as a jumping-off point for sorties, both crewed and uncrewed, to the lunar surface.

The current plan calls for launching Gateway's first two elements — HALO and the power and propulsion element (PPE), which will be built by Maxar Technologies — together in 2023. NASA expects to award Northrop Grumman a second contract by the end of the year, to build HALO and integrate it with the PPE, agency officials said.

Also key to the Artemis vision are NASA's Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, which together will get astronauts off the ground and on their way to deep space.

Orion has one flight under its belt, an uncrewed test mission to Earth orbit that took place in December 2014. SLS has not launched yet; it's scheduled to debut late next year on the Artemis 1 mission, which will send an uncrewed Orion on a test flight around the moon.

Orion will provide life support for astronauts aboard the Gateway, along with HALO, which will provide about as much living space as a small studio apartment.


Gateway, and the Artemis program overall, will leverage considerable cooperation from partners in the international community and the private sector. For example, the European Space Agency will provide Orion's service module, and the landers that ferry NASA astronauts from the outpost to the lunar surface will be privately built.

SpaceLogistics completes first docking of Mission Extension Vehicle-1 to the Intelsat 901 satellite

Northrop Grumman Corporation and the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, SpaceLogistics LLC, have successfully completed the first docking of the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) to the Intelsat 901 (IS-901) spacecraft in order to provide life-extension services. This historic accomplishment marks the first time two commercial satellites have docked in orbit and the first time that mission extension services will be offered to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. MEV-1, launched Oct. 9, 2019, recently completed its orbit raising to an orbit approximately 180 miles above geosynchronous orbit. IS-901 is a fully operational communication satellite that is running low on fuel. Intelsat removed 901 from service in December 2019, transferring customers to other satellites in its extensive fleet, in order to raise its orbit to the same altitude as MEV-1 in preparation for docking. MEV-1 then completed the historic docking with IS-901 on February 25 at 2:15 a.m. ET. The combined spacecraft stack will now perform on-orbit checkouts before MEV-1 begins relocating the combined vehicle to return IS-901 into service in late March. "Our Mission Extension Vehicle provides an innovative, satellite life extension service," said Tom Wilson, president, SpaceLogistics LLC. "Together, Northrop Grumman, SpaceLogistics LLC and Intelsat have taken the first step in pioneering in-space logistics services for both commercial and government customers." "Intelsat has been at the forefront of innovation and game-changing space technology for decades. Pushing the boundaries of what's possible is in our DNA here - that's why we didn't hesitate to sign up to be MEV-1's first customer," said Mike DeMarco, executive vice president and chief services officer at Intelsat. "We're proud to make history with SpaceLogistics LLC and Northrop Grumman on this groundbreaking space milestone."

Under the terms of the contract with Intelsat, MEV-1 will provide five years of life extension services to the IS-901 satellite before returning the spacecraft to a final decommissioning orbit. MEV-1 will then move on to provide mission extension services to a new client spacecraft.

MEV-1 was designed and built at the Northrop Grumman's Dulles, Virginia, facility and utilizes a low-risk mechanical docking system that attaches to existing features on the client satellite. Once docked, MEV takes over the attitude and orbit maintenance of the combined vehicle stack to meet the pointing and station keeping requirements of the customer.

MEV is designed for multiple docking and undockings and can deliver over 15 years of life extension services. The company is scheduled to launch its second Mission Extension Vehicle, MEV-2, later this year, which is contracted to provide service to a different Intelsat satellite.

This life extension service is just the first step in an expansive technology development plan. The company's vision is to establish a fleet of satellite servicing vehicles that not only extend the life of satellites, but provide other services such as inclination changes and spacecraft inspections, as well as use advanced robotics technology to perform additional functions such as in-orbit repair and assembly.

As the foundational architects of satellite technology, Intelsat operates the world's largest and most advanced satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure. We apply our unparalleled expertise and global scale to connect people, businesses and communities, no matter how difficult the challenge. Intelsat is uniquely positioned to help our customers turn possibilities into reality - transformation happens when businesses, governments and communities use Intelsat's next-generation global network and managed services to build their connected future.

NanoRacks provides historic triple-altitude delivery for customers in single Space Station launch

Early this morning, Cygnus, the spacecraft from the tenth contracted cargo resupply mission for Northrop Grumman (previously Orbital ATK), berthed with the International Space Station carrying yet another historic NanoRacks mission. For the first time ever, NanoRacks booked customers on three different altitudes on one commercial resupply launch. The first delivery will be a research experiment to the astronauts on station. The experiment, "Experimental Chondrule Formation at the International Space Station," or EXCISS, is the third and final project to launch through the joint "Uberflieger" program, sponsored by DLR, the German Space Agency, and DreamUp, an XO Markets company and the leading provider of educational opportunities in space. The Uberflieger program sponsored flights and educational programming for three winning German university teams to fly experiments to the Space Station via NanoRacks' services. EXCISS, from Goethe University in Frankfurt, will study the formation of the solar system on the chondrule level inside a NanoLab. Chondrules are submillimeter to millimeter sized spherical particles that make up most of the mass of meteorites. The Uberflieger Program was developed to coincide with German Astronaut Alexander Gerst's tenure in orbit.

After Cygnus' stay at the Space Station, the spacecraft is planned to maneuver to a higher altitude where the sixth NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployment Program mission will deploy two of three CubeSats on board into orbit, MySat-1 and the second CHEFSat satellite.

The launch of MySat-1 marks an additional historic moment for NanoRacks, being the first payload that NanoRacks has launched from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). MySat-1 is a joint program from Yahsat, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, and Northrop Grumman. NanoRacks has provided access to space to over 30 nations around the world.

"It's so exciting to now have the UAE as part of the NanoRacks international family," says Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Allen Herbert. "It's been a pleasure to work with Yahsat and Khalifa University, as this program truly demonstrates the collaboration between educational programs and advanced research. I offer a special thanks to Northrop Grumman as the sponsor for this program, and showing how the UAE provides the leading example of success for other emerging space nations around the world."

After MySat-1 and CHEFSat are deployed, NanoRacks will deliver the final customer payload in a third altitude. Northrop Grumman will direct Cygnus below the ISS to deploy KickSat-2, a collaborative CubeSat from NASA Ames Research Center and Stanford University. KickSat-2 was selected for flight by NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) and is being launched as the sole CubeSat in the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites-16 (ELaNa-16) mission complement, sponsored by the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP).

KickSat-2 is being deployed well below the International Space Station altitude due to the satellite sub-deploying smaller "ChipSats," a prototype representing a disruptive new space technology. These ChipSats, also known as "Sprites," are tiny spacecraft that include power, sensors, and communication systems on a printed circuit board measuring 3.5 by 3.5 centimeters, with a thickness of just a few millimeters and a mass of just a few grams. The ChipSats are expected to be in orbit for only a few days before burning up.

"We're dancing in orbit" says External Payloads Manager Henry Martin. "NanoRacks is here to build out custom missions to meet all of our customer needs, and now that means delivering in multiple altitudes on one vehicle."

The NanoRacks External Cygnus Program is the first program to have leveraged a commercial resupply vehicle for use beyond the primary cargo delivery to Space Station, demonstrating the future possibilities for using cargo vehicles for the Company's future Outpost program, and other commercial space station activities. Upon the successful completion of this mission, NanoRacks will have deployed 35 satellites from the Cygnus into multiple orbits.

"It's all in a day's work," continues Martin. "And we're especially thankful to the teams at both Northrop Grumman and NASA for being our partners in innovation within the Cygnus and International Space Station programs."