Northrop Grumman picks Firefly to replace Russian engines on Antares rocket:
Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket is about to get an all-American upgrade with the help of Firefly Aerospace.
The two U.S. space companies announced Monday (Aug. 8) they are working together to build a new first stage for Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket while also developing a brand-new medium-lift booster for future launches. The partnership means Northrop Grumman will replace the current Antares rocket, which is built in Ukraine and powered by Russian engines, with a more powerful version (called the Antares 330) that can carry heavier payloads.
The move removes Northrop Grumman's dependency on Ukraine and Russia for critical components of the Antares rocket, which the company uses to fly Cygnus cargo ship missions to the International Space Station for NASA.
"Through our collaboration, we will first develop a fully domestic version of our Antares rocket, the Antares 330, for Cygnus space station commercial resupply services, followed by an entirely new medium class launch vehicle," Scott Lehr, Northrop Grumman's vice president and general manager, launch and missile defense systems, said in a statement (opens in new tab).
Related: Northrop Grumman's Cygnus boosts International Space Station's
Not THAT Firefly!
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Sunday evening's launch will be the second orbital flight attempt for Firefly's Alpha rocket:
Firefly Aerospace will take another crack at reaching orbit on Sunday (Sept. 11), and you can watch it live.
The Texas-based company plans to launch its Alpha rocket on a test mission from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday (Sept. 11) at 6 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. local California time; 2200 GMT). You can watch the liftoff via Firefly and its livestream partner, EverydayAstronaut.com ; Space.com will carry that webcast as well, if possible.
This will be Alpha's second attempt to make it to orbit. The first try, which launched from Vandenberg on Sept. 2, 2021, ended in a dramatic fireball after the 95-foot-tall (29 meters) rocket suffered a major anomaly.
Related:
Northrop Grumman Picks Firefly to Replace Russian Engines on Antares Rocket
Rocket 'Terminated' in Fiery Explosion Over Pacific Ocean
Firefly's Alpha rocket reaches orbit on second launch
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha launch vehicle reached orbit on its second launch Oct. 1, more than a year after the vehicle's first launch failed.
The Alpha rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Eastern. The rocket's upper stage achieved orbit nearly eight minutes later. After a circularization burn, the upper stage deployed its payloads, and Firefly declared "100% Mission success" about one hour and 45 minutes after liftoff.
[...] The "To The Black" test flight carried several satellites to be deployed into a 300-kilometer orbit inclined at 137 degrees. The Teachers in Space – Serenity 3U cubesat is designed to collect basic flight data for use by educators. NASA's TechEdSat-15 3U cubesat includes several technology demonstration payloads, such as an "exo-brake" intended to provide a targeted reentry of the cubesat. A PicoBus deployer carried six PocketQube satellites for AMSAT Spain, Fossa and Libra Space Foundation.
Firefly, Millennium Space selected for U.S. Space Force rapid-launch demonstration
The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023.
The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission as part of a broader effort by the U.S. Space Force to accelerate the timeline for deploying payloads to orbit.
Previously: Rocket 'Terminated' in Fiery Explosion Over Pacific Ocean (2021)
Northrop Grumman Picks Firefly to Replace Russian Engines on Antares Rocket
Watch Firefly Aerospace Try to Reach Orbit for 1st Time Sunday
(Score: 5, Funny) by Opportunist on Friday August 12 2022, @10:37AM (4 children)
Any chance to rename it Serenity?
(Score: 3, Touché) by Freeman on Friday August 12 2022, @02:55PM (1 child)
No, we don't want the Reavers to come for us.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by liar on Friday August 12 2022, @07:51PM
Two by two, hands of blue...
Noli nothis permittere te terere.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday August 13 2022, @02:10PM
You laugh, but that's totally their real naming convention.
The Firefly Beta design uses 5 Reaver engines, while the latest redesign will use 7 Miranda engines. And as I recall there were a few other such hat-tips that I've forgotten.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Saturday August 13 2022, @08:57PM
Can they switch to Blue Origin BE-4 engines?
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