Global News

Northrop Grumman’s OmegA space launch vehicle has found its first client, as the company expands into markets requiring more grunt from their rockets. Saturn will entrust the OmegA with up to two of its NationSat satellites, which are to be put into geosynchronous transfer orbit around Earth in 2021.

Northrop Grumman is no stranger to rocket launches. The company already has almost 80 missions under its belt, in fact, though they’ve all been with small and medium class rockets. The OmegA will allow the company to compete in the intermediate/heavy class, too.

Before that can happen, however, OmegA needs to be finished. It was only October, in fact, that the company was granted a Launch Services Agreement to finish the detailed design and verification of both the launch vehicle and its launch sites, by the U.S. Air Force. The first flight, scheduled for spring 2021, will not only be responsible for deploying Saturn’s satellites, but act as a certification step in convincing the Air Force that the rocket is good to go.