Latest news with #Antares330
Broadcast Pro
4 days ago
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Northrop invests $50m in Firefly Aerospace to advance Eclipse launch vehicle
The vehicle is being built on a hybrid foundation that draws from Northrop Grummans Antares platform and Fireflys Alpha rocket technology. Northrop Grumman Corporation has invested $50m into Firefly Aerospace to further advance production of their co-developed medium launch vehicle, now known as Eclipse. The companies continue to make progress in the development of Eclipse flight hardware, with qualification testing underway and more than 60 Miranda engine hot fire tests performed to date. Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said: 'Firefly is incredibly grateful for Northrop Grummans investment that further solidifies our first-of-its-kind partnership to build the first stage of Antares 330 and jointly develop Eclipse. Eclipse represents two powerful forces coming together to transform the launch market with decades of flight heritage, a rapid, iterative approach, and bold innovation. With a 16 metric ton to orbit capability, Eclipse is a sweet spot for programs like NSSL Lane 1 and a natural fit to launch proliferated constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO and TLI.' Built upon Northrop Grummans Antares and Fireflys Alpha rocket, Eclipse offers a significant leap in power, performance, production cadence and payload capacity. The launch vehicle retains the flight-proven avionics from the Antares programme with additional upgrades, including a larger 5.4 meter payload fairing. Eclipse also utilises the same first stage Firefly is developing for Antares 330 and retains scaled-up versions of Alphas propulsion systems and carbon composite structures, allowing the team to rapidly build and test Eclipse with significant production efficiencies and economies of scale. Firefly utilised the same patented tap-off cycle architecture from Alphas Reaver and Lightning engines for Eclipses Miranda and Vira engines, and completed mission duty cycle with a 206 second Miranda hot fire, matching the longest time the engine will burn during a flight. Following several development test campaigns, flight hardware has been manufactured for the common dome propellant tanks, engine bay and interstage. Wendy Williams, Vice President and General Manager, Launch and Missile Defense Systems, Northrop Grumman, added: 'Eclipse gives customers the right balance between payload capacity and affordability. Our partnership with Firefly builds on our capacity to provide crucial spaced-based communication, observation, and exploration for civil and national security customers.' Filling a void in an underserved market, Eclipse is equipped to deliver 16,300 kg of cargo to low Earth orbit or 3,200 kg of cargo to geosynchronous transfer orbit. Eclipse will first launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, as early as 2026 and is able to support space station resupply, commercial spacecraft, critical national security missions and scientific payloads for the domestic and international markets.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Northrop Grumman doubles down on new rocket investment with Firefly
Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace have given a name to the future medium-lift rocket they plan to build: Eclipse. The two companies are already partnered to help shepherd a new version of Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket, which has not flown since 2023 when the company used the last of its supply of Russian-made engines for the rocket's first stage. A new version of the rocket called the Antares 330 will use seven of Texas-based Firefly's Miranda engines on a redesigned first-stage the company is also developing. Firefly's work on Antares 330 is flowing right into the design of the the larger Eclipse rocket. Northrop Grumman, which is headquartered in West Falls Church, Virginia but has facilities all over the nation including in Florida, announced it was investing a further $50 million into Firefly's development of Eclipse. The new rocket, which won't debut until at least 2026, aims to support space station resupply missions, commercial spacecraft, national security missions and scientific payloads for domestic and international markets, according to a joint press release from the two companies. Eclipse will also be bigger than Antares 330, which could only fly about 17,500 pounds of payload to low-Earth orbit. Eclipse, though, aims to increase capacity to about 36,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, which is still smaller than the roughly 50,000-pound capacity of SpaceX's Falcon 9 and ULA's new Vulcan, which can fly up to 60,000 pounds. Firefly CEO Jason Kim said Eclipse is in a 'sweet spot' for programs like the National Security Space Launch contracts designed for higher-risk newcomers. It will also be perfect to support commercial satellite constellations, he said. Firefly has its own small-capacity rocket, Alpha, but it has seen limited success on launch. But its other space-based programs have been very accomplished so far, including the first commercial lunar landing to not tip over when its Blue Ghost competed a mission under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract. Eclipse's design is based on a combination of Antares and Alpha, and will have an 18-foot-diameter fairing similar to Falcon 9 and Vulcan. Northrop Grumman continues to fly its Cygnus resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station, but has had to hand off launch services to SpaceX until its new Antares is ready. 'Eclipse gives customers the right balance of payload capacity and affordability,' said Wendy Williams, Northrop Grumman's vice president and general manager for its launch and missile defense systems. 'Our partnership with Firefly builds on our capacity to provide crucial spaced-based communication, observation and exploration for civil and national security customers.' Both the Antares 330 and the new Eclipse rocket will launch from Virginia's Eastern Shore from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, although Firefly also has a launch lease at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Eclipse will be built in Briggs, Texas and Chandler, Arizona with qualification testing already underway. The debut of the new Antares rocket could still be this year, possibly for the next Cygnus resupply mission, NG-23, that wouldn't fly until this fall.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Northrop Grumman Invests $50 Million in Firefly Aerospace to Advance Medium Launch Vehicle Named Eclipse™
American-manufactured vehicle will launch space station resupply, commercial, and national securityCEDAR PARK, Texas, May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has invested $50 million into Firefly Aerospace to further advance production of their co-developed medium launch vehicle, now known as Eclipse™. The companies continue to make progress in the development of Eclipse flight hardware with qualification testing underway and more than 60 Miranda engine hot fire tests performed to date. 'Firefly is incredibly grateful for Northrop Grumman's investment that further solidifies our first-of-its-kind partnership to build the first stage of Antares 330 and jointly develop Eclipse,' said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. 'Eclipse represents two powerful forces coming together to transform the launch market with decades of flight heritage, a rapid, iterative approach, and bold innovation. With a 16 metric ton to orbit capability, Eclipse is a sweet spot for programs like NSSL Lane 1 and a natural fit to launch proliferated constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO, and TLI.' Built upon Northrop Grumman's Antares and Firefly's Alpha rocket, Eclipse offers a significant leap in power, performance, production cadence, and payload capacity. The launch vehicle retains the flight-proven avionics from the Antares program with additional upgrades, including a larger 5.4 meter payload fairing. Eclipse also utilizes the same first stage Firefly is developing for Antares 330 and retains scaled-up versions of Alpha's propulsion systems and carbon composite structures, allowing the team to rapidly build and test Eclipse with significant production efficiencies and economies of scale. Firefly utilized the same patented tap-off cycle architecture from Alpha's Reaver and Lightning engines for Eclipse's Miranda and Vira engines, and completed mission duty cycle with a 206 second Miranda hot fire, matching the longest time the engine will burn during a flight. Following several development test campaigns, flight hardware has been manufactured for the common dome propellant tanks, engine bay and interstage. 'Eclipse gives customers the right balance between payload capacity and affordability,' said Wendy Williams, vice president and general manager, launch and missile defense systems, Northrop Grumman. 'Our partnership with Firefly builds on our capacity to provide crucial spaced-based communication, observation, and exploration for civil and national security customers.' Filling a void in an underserved market, Eclipse is equipped to deliver 16,300 kg of cargo to low Earth orbit or 3,200 kg of cargo to geosynchronous transfer orbit. Eclipse will first launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, as early as 2026 and is able to support space station resupply, commercial spacecraft, critical national security missions and scientific payloads for the domestic and international markets. About Firefly AerospaceFirefly Aerospace is an end-to-end responsive space company with launch, lunar, and on-orbit services. Headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners ('AEI') focused on delivering rapid, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly's small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide the space industry with a single source for missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. For more information, visit About Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers' toughest problems, our employees define possible every day. Media Contacts Firefly Aerospacepress@ Northrop Image GalleryEclipse | Flickr A photo accompanying this announcement is available at A video accompanying this announcement is available at
