Russian Engines Lose Spot on Northrop Grumman Rocket
Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket lifting off in February from a NASA facility in Wallops Island, Va.
Photo:
Steve Helber/Associated Press
A new version of a
Northrop Grumman Corp.
NOC -1.58%
rocket that flies NASA cargo to the International Space Station is expected to use U.S.-made engines for future launches, the aerospace company said Monday, a shift away from its reliance on Russian motors.
Russian officials halted exports of rocket engines to the U.S. in March after the Biden administration moved to sanction the country for invading Ukraine. The war stressed international cooperation in space, requiring some satellite companies to find alternatives to launching on Russian rockets and scuttling some science missions.
Northrop Grumman said Monday it will use engines that Firefly Aerospace, a Cedar Park, Texas-based space company is developing, for a future version of its Antares rocket.
The current Antares vehicles use Russian engines called RD-181s. It also uses hardware from a Ukrainian supplier for the first part of flights. Northrop Grumman conducts supply runs to the space station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with that version of the rocket.
Kurt Eberly, director of space launch programs at Northrop Grumman, said the part of the Antares vehicle using Firefly hardware is expected to be available in late 2024. The companies didn’t disclose terms of the deal.
The new vehicle will use Northrop Grumman technology and software already on the current rocket, according to Mr. Eberly, allowing Firefly to focus on developing the engines. “That gets us the quickest launch capability that we can get,” he said.
Northrop Grumman plans to fly two additional NASA cargo missions using its current rocket system with Russian engines. Then, before the future version of Antares is available, it has hired SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets for three supply missions to the space station, according to Mr. Eberly.
SpaceX also conducts cargo runs to the International Space Station for NASA under its own contract with the space agency.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as the
Elon Musk
-led space company is called, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the August 9, 2022, print edition as ‘Space Contractor Will Shift To Using U.S. Parts.’
Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket lifting off in February from a NASA facility in Wallops Island, Va.
Photo:
Steve Helber/Associated Press
A new version of a
Northrop Grumman Corp.
NOC -1.58%
rocket that flies NASA cargo to the International Space Station is expected to use U.S.-made engines for future launches, the aerospace company said Monday, a shift away from its reliance on Russian motors.
Russian officials halted exports of rocket engines to the U.S. in March after the Biden administration moved to sanction the country for invading Ukraine. The war stressed international cooperation in space, requiring some satellite companies to find alternatives to launching on Russian rockets and scuttling some science missions.
Northrop Grumman said Monday it will use engines that Firefly Aerospace, a Cedar Park, Texas-based space company is developing, for a future version of its Antares rocket.
The current Antares vehicles use Russian engines called RD-181s. It also uses hardware from a Ukrainian supplier for the first part of flights. Northrop Grumman conducts supply runs to the space station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with that version of the rocket.
Kurt Eberly, director of space launch programs at Northrop Grumman, said the part of the Antares vehicle using Firefly hardware is expected to be available in late 2024. The companies didn’t disclose terms of the deal.
The new vehicle will use Northrop Grumman technology and software already on the current rocket, according to Mr. Eberly, allowing Firefly to focus on developing the engines. “That gets us the quickest launch capability that we can get,” he said.
Northrop Grumman plans to fly two additional NASA cargo missions using its current rocket system with Russian engines. Then, before the future version of Antares is available, it has hired SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets for three supply missions to the space station, according to Mr. Eberly.
SpaceX also conducts cargo runs to the International Space Station for NASA under its own contract with the space agency.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as the
Elon Musk
-led space company is called, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the August 9, 2022, print edition as ‘Space Contractor Will Shift To Using U.S. Parts.’
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