Orbital ATK Reinforces Commitment to U.S. Air Force EELV Program with OmegA Rocket
16 Abril 2018 - 7:21PM
Business Wire
All-American Rocket Configuration Finalized
with Selection of Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C Upper Stage
Propulsion
OmegA™ Scheduled for Ground Tests Next Year,
First Launch in 2021
During the 34th annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA), a global leader in aerospace and
defense technologies, today provided a detailed update on the
important progress being made on its Next Generation Launch System.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S. Air Force’s
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program for national
security space missions with the announcement of the name of the
rocket, OmegA, and the selection of its upper stage propulsion
system. As one of the company’s largest strategic investments,
OmegA will provide intermediate- to heavy-class launch services for
Department of Defense, civil government and commercial customers
beginning in three years.
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As one of Orbital ATK's largest strategic
investments, the OmegA rocket will provide intermediate- to
heavy-class launch services for Department of Defense, civil
government and commercial customers beginning in three years.
(Graphic: Business Wire)
“Orbital ATK is very excited to partner with the U.S. Air Force
to develop OmegA, our new EELV-class launch vehicle,” said Scott
Lehr, President of Orbital ATK’s Flight Systems Group. “Our OmegA
rocket provides the best combination of performance, affordability
and reliability to support the full range of our customers’ mission
requirements. Based on our experience of producing more than 430
launch vehicles over the last 35 years, we have the rigorous
processes, operational discipline and oversight transparency that
are expected by our U.S. government customers. And with the
industrial resources and financial capabilities of a $5 billion
revenue company, Orbital ATK is fully committed to meeting the
technical and schedule requirements of this important program.”
Over the last three years, Orbital ATK and the U.S. Air Force
have together invested more than $250 million in developing the
OmegA rocket, and the company has committed to an even larger
additional investment to complete its development and
certification. Orbital ATK is already building major propulsion and
structural elements with a program workforce of about 500
employees. OmegA is on schedule to complete propulsion system
ground tests in 2019 and to conduct its first launch in 2021.
The rocket configuration consists of Orbital ATK-built first and
second solid rocket stages, strap-on solid boosters and a cryogenic
liquid upper stage. After careful consideration, Orbital ATK
recently selected Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10C to be OmegA’s upper
stage propulsion engine.
“The RL10 has provided reliable upper stage propulsion for more
than five decades and we look forward to continuing that legacy
with Orbital ATK and its OmegA rocket,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO
and President Eileen Drake. “By selecting the RL10, Orbital ATK is
able to leverage investments made by the U.S. Air Force and others
to build resilient space launch capabilities for our nation.”
“The RL10 has an extensive flight history and provides a
low-risk, affordable engine with outstanding performance,” said
Mike Pinkston, Deputy General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Launch
Vehicles Division. “OmegA is a robust all-American launch system
with its entire design based on flight-proven technologies and
common components from Orbital ATK’s diversified lineup of rockets
and propulsion systems.”
Orbital ATK has a long history of launching critical payloads
for the Department of Defense, NASA and other customers with the
company’s Pegasus®, Minotaur and AntaresTM space launch vehicles as
well as a wide array of strategic missile interceptors and targets
in support of critical national security launch programs.
“We currently have 10 launch vehicle product lines that are in
active production and operations for our government and commercial
customers, leveraging the efforts of one of the industry’s most
experienced launch vehicle development and operations teams,” said
Pinkston. The company has built and delivered about 160 space and
strategic launch vehicles and approximately 275 target vehicles in
the past 35 years, with current annual production rates totaling
about 20 vehicles per year.
Approximately 500 employees are currently working on OmegA, a
number that is expected to grow to about 1,000 people over the next
18 months. The company’s development team is working on the program
in Arizona, Utah, Mississippi and Louisiana, with launch
integration and operations planned at Kennedy Space Center in
Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The program
will also support hundreds of jobs across the country in its supply
chain.
The next phase of the OmegA program is expected to begin when
the U.S. Air Force awards Launch Services Agreements in mid-2018,
which will include the remaining development and verification of
the vehicle and its launch sites. After initial flights of its
intermediate configuration in 2021, OmegA will be certified for
operational EELV missions starting in 2022 with initial heavy
configuration flights beginning in 2024.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs
approximately 14,000 people across the U.S. and in several
international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
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Orbital ATKMedia:Trina Patterson, 480-814-6504Launch
Vehicles
Communicationstrina.patterson@orbitalatk.comorInvestors:Barron
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