Northrop Grumman Press Release
30 October 2008
Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed manufacturing and integrating a spacecraft engine that runs on the “green” or non-toxic propellants of liquid oxygen and liquid methane for possible use on NASA human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The company’s TR408 second-generation, oxygen-methane 100 pound-force reaction control engine (RCE) was designed for the Propulsion and Cryogenics Advanced Development Project within NASA’s Exploration Technology Development Program, and features robust operation over widely variable propellant conditions. Propulsion systems using engines like the TR408 may have the potential to use green propellants that are produced from lunar or Martian soil.
Continue reading ‘Northrop Grumman Completes “Green” Engine; Fuel Could Be Made from Lunar, Martian Soil’
NASA PRESS RELEASE
Nine teams with rocket-powered vehicles will compete for $2 million in NASA prize money during the 2008 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, Oct. 24-25, at Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico.
Teams must fly their vehicle, simulating a takeoff and landing on the moon, and repeat the task in a limited period of time. The competition provides a demanding test of navigation and control for the vehicles, as well as a demonstration of reusable rocket engine technology.
Continue reading ‘Nine Teams Competing in Lunar Lander Challenge This Week’
Lunar Lander Challenge - Problems Curtail October Competition
Leonard David
Live Science
“The space grapevine was a buzz late last week - looks like the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico will not be held there October 24-25th.
“According to Sarah Becky Ramsey, Director of Communications at the X Prize Cup Foundation, the official word is that ‘because of some other activities on the base, we will not be able to hold the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge there on our previously scheduled dates.’”
“Ramsey added that other options are being investigated, ‘with an eye toward rescheduling the competition as soon as practical in southern New Mexico.’”
Buoyed by increased defense sales, Raytheon reported first-quarter profits of $400 million, or 93 cents per share. The world’s fifth largest defense contractor’s 15-percent growth exceeded Wall Street expectations, and company officials re-iterated earlier guidance double-digit profit growth this year.
Associated Press Story
Raytheon Press Release
Northrop Grumman reported that first-quarter earnings fell 32 percent after “the company was forced to take a charge due to rising costs and delays with an amphibious assault ship program it is building for the U.S. Navy,” the Associated Press reported.
Northrop Grumman does extensive aerospace work. Last year, it purchase Scaled Composites, the Mojave, Calif.-based company that is building the SpaceShipTwo suborbital tourism vehicle.
NASA has awarded small contracts to five companies to conduct a 210-day study of the agency’s in-house design for a human lunar lander. The five companies are:
Andrews Space, Seattle
The Boeing Co., Houston
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Denver
Northrop Grumman Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
Odyssey Space Research, Houston.
The contracts total $1.5 million; the largest is for $350,000. These awards are part of NASA’s effort to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020.
“These studies will provide valuable input for developing a sound set of requirements for the Altair lunar lander,” said Jeff Hanley, the Constellation Program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Industry collaboration will provide insight for our planning and early design efforts for the spacecraft.”
