OmegA

OmegA is a medium to heavy-lift launch vehicle in development 2016–2020 by Northrop Grumman that was intended for launching US government national security satellites, funded as part of the US Department of the Air Force NSSL replacement program.[3]

For other uses, see Omega (disambiguation).

OmegA

Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	59.84 m (196.3 ft)
Diameter	3.71 m (12.2 ft) first stage 5.25 m (17.2 ft) upper stage
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to GTO	Intermediate: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb) to 10,100 kg (22,300 lb)[1]
Payload to GEO	Heavy: 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) to 7,800 kg (17,200 lb)[1]
Associated rockets
Comparable	Ariane 6 Delta IV Heavy Long March 5 New Glenn Saturn C-3 Vulcan Falcon Heavy Preceded by Liberty
Launch history
Status	Under development
Launch sites	Kennedy LC-39B and Vandenberg SLC-6
Total launches	0
First flight	Q2 2021 (planned)[1][2]
Boosters – GEM-63XLT
No. boosters	2 to 6
Diameter	1.6 m (63 in)
Specific impulse	279.3 s (2.739 km/s)
Fuel	HTPB
First stage
Motor	Castor 600 (Intermediate) or Castor 1200 (Heavy) Solid Rocket Booster
Fuel	HTPB
Second stage
Engines	Castor 300 1-segment Solid Rocket Booster
Fuel	HTPB
Third stage
Engines	2 × RL-10C-5-1
Thrust	101.8 kN (22,890 lbf)
Specific impulse	≈450 seconds (vacuum)
Fuel	LH2 / LOX

The OmegA design consists of new composite solid rocket stages with a cryogenic upper stage provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne[4], replacing earlier plans to use an upper stage engine provided by Blue Origin.[5] The OmegA design was similar to the defunct Ares I and Liberty projects, both of which consisted of a five segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) and a cryogenic second stage. It was intended to be launched from Kennedy Space Center LC-39B or Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-6.[6] OmegA was proposed as a vehicle to launch national security satellites for the United States Space Force and other government agencies, including to geostationary transfer orbit. The launch vehicle could theoretically launch commercial payloads as well, but was not designed at a price point to make private competitive launches likely. NGIS claimed in 2016 that crewed spacecraft could also be launched, just as the predecessor Ares I and Liberty rockets, which were designed to be able to also launch the Orion space capsule.[7]

As of 2016, actual development was to get underway only once the Air Force reached a funding decision.[8][7] In October 2018, the Air Force announced that Northrop Grumman was awarded $792 million for initial development of the OmegA launch vehicle.[9]

In August 2020, the Department of the Air Force announced the results of the approximately US$3.5 billion National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement for launches in the 2022–2027 timeframe and OmegA was not selected.[10][11] The fate of the OmegA launch vehicle is unclear, but the USAF announced that it would wind down any remaining OmegA development contracts from phase 1, and may not pay out the entire maximum amount of the earlier 2019 contract to NGIS.[10]

History

Orbital ATK's Logo

In January 2016, Orbital ATK was one of two companies awarded funds by the United States Air Force to develop technologies to eliminate dependency on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine for US national security payloads.[8] The award was worth an initial $46.9 million, with an option for up to $180.2 million total. This was to be matched by $31.1 million initially, and up to $124.8 million in company funds if all options of the contract are exercised. The contract would fund the development of three technologies in support of the OmegA rocket, then called Next Generation Launcher: the GEM-63XL strap-on booster, a Common Booster Core and an extendable nozzle for the BE-3U upper stage engine. A previous effort, funded by NASA, demonstrated the technology for a composite motor case to replace the metal motor cases used for Space Shuttle SRBs.[12]

In May 2016, Orbital ATK revealed their plans for the Next Generation Launcher, including the configuration and the intended business case.[6] The Next Generation Launcher intends to make use of existing launch infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), including the Vehicle Assembly Building used by the Space Shuttle, with the possibility of polar orbit launches occurring from Vandenberg Air Force Base. NASA began looking for commercial users to operate unused space within the Vehicle Assembly Building in June 2015, and by April 2016, it was announced that Orbital ATK was in negotiations to lease High Bay 2.[13] Orbital ATK claimed that a minimum of 5–6 launches per year would be required to make the rocket profitable. Full development and introduction will be dependent on both demand and funding from the US Air Force. A final "go/no-go decision" to proceed with full development and introduction of the Next Generation Launcher took place in early 2018.[14]

In April 2017, Orbital ATK revealed that OmegA would be launched from pad 39B at KSC, sharing launch facilities and mobile transporter with the NASA Space Launch System (SLS). The rocket would compete for USAF national security launches and NASA missions. There would be multiple configurations of the launch system, with multiple stages.[15]

In April 2018, Orbital ATK announced that Next Generation Launcher would be named OmegA. Additionally, they revealed the selection of the RL-10C engine over Blue Origin's BE-3U competitor. The intermediate configuration, with a Castor 600 first stage, increased payload to GTO from 8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb) to 10,100 kilograms (22,300 lb). The Castor 1200-powered Heavy configuration increased GEO payload from 7,000 kilograms (15,000 lb) to 7,800 kilograms (17,200 lb) and has a TLI capability of up to 12,300 kg (27,000 lb).[1][4]

Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018, and OmegA became a Northrop Grumman product.

In October 2018, OmegA was awarded a Launch Services Agreement worth $791,601,015 to design, build and launch the first OmegA rockets.[16]

In late May 2019, while conducting a static fire test of the first stage SRB, an anomaly occurred resulting in the destruction of the SRB nozzle (but not the stage itself).[17] A thorough investigation revealed that the differential pressure between the nozzle's internal pressure and surface pressure following the static fire test was greater than expected; when thrust levels dropped below a critical point upon completion of the static fire, the outside air crushed the nozzle "in an instant, just like a soda can."[18]

In 2019, Northrop Grumman bid the OmegA launch vehicle to the US Air Force for the multi-year block buy launch contract that would cover all US national security launches in 2022–2026.[19]

In August 2020, the US Department of the Air Force announced the results of the approximately US$3.5 billion National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement, selecting only SpaceX and ULA to supply launches to the US Department of Defense in the 2022–2027 timeframe. NGIS OmegA was not selected.[10][11] The contract type for the phase 2 contracts is new for US government launches as it will be a "firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery"[11] type of launch contract and these contract awards are a part of "the transition of the national security launch program to take advantage of commercial innovation and private investments in launch vehicles."[11] NGIS indicated they were "disappointed by the decision."[11] The fate of the OmegA launch vehicle is unclear, as NGIS depended on the funding from the US military to develop the vehicle design to this point.[10]

NGIS has not publically commented on any future plans for the OmegA design, but the USAF will wind down any remaining OmegA development contracts from phase 1, and may not pay out the entire maximum amount of the earlier 2019 contract to NGIS. The Air Force stated that they would work with NGIS "to determine the right point to tie off their work under the LSA agreements. ... The goal is not to carry them indefinitely, the point of an LSA was to create a more competitive environment."[10]

Multiple configurations

The rocket was to have had two basic configurations, an intermediate and a heavy launch. Both configurations would have had a minimum of two thrust vectoring GEM-63XLTs for roll control. The intermediate version was to have had a two segment solid rocket booster (SRB) first stage, a single segment SRB second stage, and a liquid hydrogen fueled third stage, while the heavy configuration would have a 4-segment SRB first stage, and the same upper stages.[20] Additional versions could conceiveably have added additional SRBs as side boosters with the SRBs sharing avionics suites with other Orbital ATK rockets to reduce costs.[15]

See also

• Ares I, a proposed Constellation program rocket based on an SDLV SRB-derived first stage and a Saturn V-derived J-2X based second stage
• Liberty (rocket), a proposed rocket based on an SDLV SRB-derived first stage and Ariane 5-derived Vulcain 2 based second stage

References

1. "OmegA Factsheet" (PDF). Northrop Grumman. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
2. UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL LAUNCH MANIFEST
3. "Orbital ATK". Twitter. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
4. Erwin, Sandra; Berger, Brian (16 April 2018). "Orbital ATK selects Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10C for newly christened OmegA rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
5. Irene Klotz (24 May 2016). "Orbital planning new rocket to compete for U.S. military launches". Reuters. Yahoo Finance.
6. Erwin, Sandra (26 October 2019). "Northrop Grumman to launch OmegA rocket from ULA's Delta 4 pad at Vandenberg". Spaceflight Now.
7. "General James B. Armor". The Space Show. Episode 2804. 31 October 2016.
8. Mike Gruss (13 January 2016). "Orbital ATK, SpaceX Win Air Force Propulsion Contracts". SpaceNews.com.
9. Erwin, Sandra (2018-10-10). "Air Force awards launch vehicle development contracts to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, ULA - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
10. Berger, Eric (7 August 2020). "In a consequential decision, Air Force picks its rockets for mid-2020s launches". ARS Technica. Retrieved 8 August 2020. the fate of Northrop's Omega rocket [is unclear as it] appears unlikely to have a path forward without guaranteed income from military launch contracts.
11. Erwin, Sandra (7 August 2020). "Pentagon picks SpaceX and ULA to remain its primary launch providers". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
12. Jason Rhian (7 December 2013). "One-on-One with ATK's Charlie Precourt about composite materials and NASA's Space Launch System". SpaceFlight Insider.
13. Stephen Clark (21 April 2016). "Orbital ATK eyes Kennedy Space Center as home of potential new launcher". Spaceflight Now.
14. Jeff Foust (10 March 2017). "Orbital ATK expects decision on new rocket by early 2018". SpaceNews.
15. James Dean (6 April 2017). "Orbital ATK optimistic about proposed KSC rocket". Florida Today.
16. Sandra Erwin (10 October 2018). "Air Force Awards Launch Vehicle Development Contracts to Blue Origin Northrop Grummand ULA". Space News.
17. Emre Kelly (30 May 2019). "Anomaly after Northrop Grumman successfully test fires Omega rocket in Utah". Florida Today.
18. Smith, Jeffrey L. (13 July 2020). "CSI: Rocket Science". The Space Review. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
19. Berger, Eric (12 August 2019). "Four rocket companies are competing for Air Force funding, and it is war". Ars Technica. Retrieved 21 August 2019. The bet by Northrop is that the US military, through its national security launch contract, would want to support one of the nation's most critical suppliers of solid-rocket motors for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Northrop officials have not said whether they would continue development of the Omega rocket if Northrop were to lose out on the Air Force contract.
20. "OmegA Factsheet" (PDF). Northrop Grumman.

External links

• OmegA official web site

Preceded by Liberty	Single-stick SRB-based LV 2016–	Succeeded by Incumbent