 | |
 | |
| Manufacturer |
|
|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Mass | Intermediate: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb) to 10,100 kg (22,300 lb)[1] |
| Payload to GEO | |
| Mass | Heavy: 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) to 7,800 kg (17,200 lb)[1] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Cancelled (2020) |
| Launch sites | |
| Boosters – GEM-63XLT | |
| No. boosters | 2 to 6 |
| Diameter | 1.6 m (63 in) |
| Specific impulse | 279.3 s (2.739 km/s) |
| Propellant | AP / HTPB / Al |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | Castor 600 (Intermediate) or Castor 1200 (Heavy) |
| Propellant | HTPB / AP |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | Castor 300 |
| Propellant | HTPB / AP |
| Third stage | |
| Powered by | 2 × RL-10C-5-1 |
| Maximum thrust | 101.8 kN (22,890 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | ≈450 seconds (vacuum) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
OmegA was a medium-lift to heavy-lift launch vehicle concept that spent several years in development by Northrop Grumman during 2016–2020, with that development substantially funded by the U.S. government. OmegA was intended for launching U.S. national security satellites, as part of the U.S. Department of the Air Force National Security Space Launch (NSSL) replacement program.[2]
The OmegA design consisted of new composite solid rocket stages with a cryogenic upper stage provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne,[3] replacing earlier plans to use an upper stage engine provided by Blue Origin.[4] 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.[5]
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. Orbital ATK 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.[6]
By 2016, actual development was to get underway only once the Air Force reached a funding decision.[7][6] In October 2018, the Air Force announced that Northrop Grumman was awarded $792 million for initial development of the OmegA launch vehicle.[8]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
ngis20191024was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Orbital ATK". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra; Berger, Brian (16 April 2018). "Orbital ATK selects Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10C for newly christened OmegA rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ^ Irene Klotz (24 May 2016). "Orbital planning new rocket to compete for U.S. military launches". Yahoo Finance. Reuters. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (26 October 2019). "Northrop Grumman to launch OmegA rocket from ULA's Delta IV pad at Vandenberg". Spaceflight Now.
- ^ a b "General James B. Armor". The Space Show. Episode 2804. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SpaceNews-20160113was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Erwin, Sandra (10 October 2018). "Air Force awards launch vehicle development contracts to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, ULA". SpaceNews.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.