To kick off this week’s SMD Symposium in Huntsville, Northrop Grumman on Monday announced its successful completion of a major step in the Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI) program and said they remain on track for the first static test fire of an NGI motor this calendar year.
Moreover, the company plans to keep building space operations in Huntsville despite a recent decision ot keep Space Command headquarters in Colorado, rather than moving it to Alabama.
Northrop Grumman manufactured the first set of solid rocket motor cases for the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) NGI program. The completed cases filled with inert propellant now are being shipped to Huntsville, where they will be integrated into an interceptor, continuing pathfinder activities and further proving out processes. Once integration is complete, the interceptor will be used for additional testing and process verification.
“Our experienced teams and cutting-edge solid rocket motor manufacturing technologies, backed by flight-proven processes, have enabled us to achieve several key milestones in rapid succession,” said Lisa Brown, vice president, NGI, Northrop Grumman. “With NGI’s mission to defend our homeland against incoming enemy threats, saving time and reducing risk is vital.”
Northrop Grumman, which already has a large presence in the Huntsville area, recently opened two new buildings near Redstone Arsenal to house its space operations. The twin buildings are expected to house 1,000 employees by the end of the year, say officials.
The news last week that the United States Space Command will remain in Colorado will not affect the growing presence of Northrop Grumman in Huntsville, said Scott Day, director of communications for Northrop Grumman. “That is a policy decision that we are not a part of,” he said. “It remains very important to us to be a part of the Huntsville community and we see no reason to change anything.”
The SMD Symposium, which started today at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center and runs through Aug. 10, brings together the top government and industry leaders in Space and Missile Defense in one event. Northrop Grumman is the titanium sponsor for this week’s event.
