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Northrop Grumman KC-45: Why We Won - Mission Capability
Mission Capability The Air Force found the Northrop Grumman KC-45 provides "Better fuel offloads at all distances from bases," "Better air refueling efficiency," "Better offload rate and receive rate," and has "A greater boom envelope vs. Boeing." This means the Northrop Grumman plane can provide more fuel at greater range, is more fuel efficient when executing the tanker mission, can perform many refueling operations faster, and can connect to receivers over a greater volume of airspace behind the tanker than Boeing's aircraft. In a written explanation of the Air Force thinking on this subject, Sue Payton, the Air Force's chief acquisition officer, said the Air Force determined that Northrop Grumman provided "Significant refueling advantages." Payton added that Northrop Grumman's aircraft's "Refueling capability was compelling to my decision." "Northrop Grumman's offer was a superior solution to the air refueling requirement, which is a key performance parameter," Payton wrote. Despite this, Boeing's defenders in Congress are now demanding that the fair and transparent bidding process that led to the Northrop Grumman selection be overturned to ensure that Boeing is given the contract, in spite of the clear inferiority of the plane it offered to our men and women in uniform. In fact, Boeing disagrees with the Air Force formula for air refueling efficiency that shows the winning Northrop Grumman tanker as six percent more efficient in relation to fuel delivered versus fuel consumed, so they invented their own. As the Wall Street Journal concluded in a recent editorial, "There's a word for that, but it's not patriotism." About the KC-45 The KC-45 Tanker aircraft will be assembled in Mobile, Ala., and the KC-45 team will employ 48,000 American workers at 230 U.S. companies in 49 states. It will be built by a world-class industrial team led by Northrop Grumman, and includes EADS North America, General Electric Aviation and Sargent Fletcher. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. Image Credit: Northrop Grumman Source: Northrop Grumman Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/northrop_grumman/p397_06.html Time Stamp: 4/21/2008 at 1:47:40 PM CST |
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First Northrop Grumman-Built National Security Cutter Returns From Successful Builder's Trial
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, a newly-formed sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation, is made up of the former Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and Newport News shipbuilding entities. "Bertholf's builder's trials validated what we have believed for sometime," said Richard Schenk, vice president and general manager for U.S. Coast Guard programs for Northrop Grumman. "The team has designed and built a ship that has exceeded expectations with respect to performance and operability. We look forward to completing Bertholf and delivering a vital asset to the Coast Guard." Bertholf is the first ship in the new class of highly capable, technologically advanced, multi-mission cutters. The NSC was built through the Deepwater Program under contract from Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture of Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. "When you combine this extremely capable cutter with our high performing crew, you have a recipe for legendary achievement," said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Kelly Hatfield, prospective executive officer of Bertholf. "We are building the legend one step at a time. The latest step was taken during builders trials with the successful first ever firing of the 57mm gun from a U.S. ship." During the trial, extensive testing of propulsion, electrical, damage control, and combat systems was conducted. This culminated in the successful completion of a four hour full power trial, standardization trials as well as 57 mm gun and close-in weapon systems. This is the second round of sea trials for Bertholf, which completed machinery trials in December 2007. The NSC started fabrication in September 2004 and was christened at Northrop Grumman's Pascagoula facility in November 2006. Bertholf will complete final trials later this spring before delivery to the Coast Guard. The NSC is a 418-foot vessel with a 4,300 ton displacement at full load powered by a combined diesel and gas turbine power propulsion plant driving twin screws with a maximum speed of 28 knots. The cutter includes an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats, an expansive flight deck able to accommodate a range of rotary wing manned and unmanned aircraft and state of the art command and control systems. In addition, the cutter features improved habitability and a sailor-centric design to facilitate optimized crewing and, enhance onboard quality of life for a mixed gender crew. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial Image Caption: The Northrop Grumman-built National Security Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) sails the Gulf of Mexico for her builder's sea trials. Image Credit: Northrop Grumman Source: Northrop Grumman Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/northrop_grumman/p253_05.html Time Stamp: 2/14/2008 at 11:28:03 AM CST |
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Hyperion Imager Celebrates Seventh Anniversary On-Orbit
Hyperion has produced more than 35,000 images in the last seven years that have been used by science teams, commercial users and military users around the country. Hyperion has proven the value of space-based hyperspectral data for use in global land-cover studies, ecosystem monitoring, mineral and petroleum prospecting and agricultural crop discrimination and assessment, among other important applications. "Hyperion demonstrates the technological excellence and outstanding reliability that's a hallmark of our systems, spacecraft and sensors," said David L. Ryan, vice president and general manager of Civil Systems Division for Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "Built as a rapid response program with a short turnaround from design to delivery, Hyperion has proven to be an extremely robust sensor." The data collected by Hyperion and the science team results will also be invaluable in future measurements and monitoring of the global carbon content, a critical element of global warming concerns. "Hyperion has shown that hyperspectral data can be used effectively to monitor vegetation biomass, atmospheric carbon content, and carbon uptake of the oceans," said Mark Folkman, director of Civil Sensor Systems for Northrop Grumman Space Technology. "We are currently developing an affordable follow-on to take improved hyperspectral images with partners NASA Ames Research Center and several universities through NASA's Innovative Partners Program." Hyperion is one of three science instruments aboard EO-1 and is designed to view the Earth in 220 spectral bands ranging from the visible through short wave infrared. Originally intended to be on-orbit for one year, Hyperion completed its mission as part of NASA's New Millennium Program and has been in an extended mission since. The New Millennium Program was created to demonstrate advanced technologies and designs that show promise for dramatically reducing the cost and improving the quality of instruments and spacecraft for future missions. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. Image Caption: Autonomous Sciencecraft Software on EO-1 enables tracking of active volcanic processes worldwide. Currently monitoring scores of volcanoes. Image Credit: NASA Source: Northrop Grumman Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/northrop_grumman/p172_04.html Time Stamp: 11/21/2007 at 8:56:30 AM CST |
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Successful Hot-Fire Test of Radically New Type of Rocket Engine Northrop Grumman Demonstrates New Rocket Engine Design Using Oxygen and Methane Propellants Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) successfully hot-fire tested a radically new type of rocket engine specifically designed to use oxygen and methane propellants that range from all-gas to all-liquid at the inlet to the thruster. More than 50 separate tests demonstrated high performance, operating stability and ample design margin of this 100 lbf-thrust rocket, designated the TR408. The successful tests validate the robust capabilities and high performance of the integrated engine design. "The demonstration test results are impressive considering the broad range of conditions and operational modes tested. The engine far exceeded performance requirements and is on track to deliver a steady-state specific impulse of 340 seconds," stated Mark Trinidad, Northrop Grumman's program manager for the TR408. The TR408 is a simple design that uses only two propellant valves, no moving parts other than valves, and contains a built-in spark igniter to initiate combustion of injected propellants. The reaction control engine operates under short pulse and steady-state modes. This engine is unique in its capability to fully vaporize both the oxidizer (liquid oxygen) and fuel (liquid methane) by passing these propellants through cooling passages located in the thrust chamber wall before injecting them into the chamber for combustion. If gaseous instead of cryogenic liquid propellants are fed to the engine, the gases still provide cooling and will enter the injector at a higher temperature. A design that ensures gas-gas injection results in consistent performance and combustion stability. Previous rocket engine designs using propellant to cool the chamber do not vaporize any of the propellant or may only vaporize one of the propellants, typically the fuel. The ability to operate under a broad range of inlet conditions is critical for reducing the complexity and weight of cryogenic propulsion systems that perform random pulsing for attitude control. "We are pleased that in 16 months from contract award, we were able to provide NASA with this demonstration of innovative technology that addresses a critical mission need," said Tom Romesser, vice president of the Technology & Emerging Systems Division for Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. The development of this new rocket engine has been performed under contract to NASA Glenn Research Center on the Cryogenic Reaction Control Engine program, awarded to Northrop Grumman in February 2006. NASA's Johnson Space Center provided technical management on the effort. Development hot-fire testing under vacuum conditions was performed at Northrop Grumman's Capistrano Test Site located in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. Source: Northrop Grumman Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/northrop_grumman/p167_03.html Time Stamp: 11/14/2007 at 9:09:35 AM CST |
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Final Launch U.S. Air Force Set to Launch 23rd and Final Northrop Grumman-Built Defense Support Program Satellite On November 10 The 23rd and final Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) for the U.S. Air Force, is scheduled for launch on Nov. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 37. The launch window is expected to open at 8:39 EST. DSP Flight 23 will complete a constellation that has served as the nation's "eyes in the sky" for 37 years, providing early warning of ballistic missile launches aimed at the United States and its allies. DSP has served the nation continuously since becoming operational, monitoring the globe and detecting, characterizing and reporting on ballistic missile launches in peacetime and in conflict. The first DSP became operational during the Cold War, initially monitoring Soviet and Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles and Soviet short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missiles from a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. Following the end of the Cold War, the system started monitoring tactical ballistic missiles, and, in recent years, has even been used to detect and study large fires and volcanic eruptions. "DSP has established an excellent performance record, reliably delivering data to the warfighter with no interruption in service, despite different threats and changing requirements," said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "This system is the result of a close and mutually supportive partnership between the government and industry. Our people have refined processes, developed capabilities and shared best practices that have contributed to DSP's long-term success." Northrop Grumman builds and integrates the spacecraft and infrared sensor for the Air Force Space and Missile Center. Its teammates include the Aerospace Corporation, and Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. Northrop Grumman's disciplined approach to evolving the DSP system through four major upgrades has allowed the satellites to exceed their initially required design lives by 150 percent. DSP's longevity has provided an extra 163 satellite-years on-orbit to date, which is the equivalent of delivering 30 to 50 additional satellites (without the cost of the launches). The sensor has also grown in capability. System life was extended by adding a thermal control system to keep the focal plane array cool and by redesigning hardware to counter the effects of radiation and surface contamination. Improving onboard data processing and adding a data control unit has eliminated unexpected data losses, allowed for independent sensor tuning, and maximized the availability of lower intensity data. The system has also benefited through an evolutionary jump in ground processing capability. Ground processing was re-hosted to a significantly more powerful operating system. This allows the DSP system to process all available data, improve background control and line of sight determination algorithms, improve data fusion, process multiple assets, and evolve the mission capabilities into the tactical arena. Another factor contributing to DSP's longevity and reliability is Northrop Grumman's launch integration skills, which have been proven on five different launch vehicles to date. The upcoming launch, on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV-Heavy, will be the sixth launch vehicle to give DSP a lift but the first Delta IV-Heavy to boost the satellite into orbit. In addition to building and integrating 23 DSP spacecraft with missile-detecting infrared sensors, Northrop Grumman provides day-to-day technical assistance for DSP at Schriever and Buckley Air Force bases; conducts satellite performance analysis, anomaly resolution and early on-orbit testing at its Telemetry and Orbital Test Station and Satellite Payload Orbital Test Station; and has built software systems that help to process, display and distribute DSP satellite data to national command authorities. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. Source: Northrop Grumman Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/northrop_grumman/p159_02.html Time Stamp: 11/8/2007 at 10:59:40 AM CST |
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The
U.S. Air Force found Northrop Grumman's (NYSE: NOC) bid to build
the next generation of aerial refueling tankers superior to
Boeing's in four of the five most important selection criteria.
Despite this fact, the losing bidder wants the Government
Accountability Office to overturn the Air Force decision to award
the contract to Northrop Grumman. Starting today and regularly in
the coming weeks, "Why We Won" will provide detailed
examples of why Northrop Grumman was selected, drawing on facts
listed in a redacted version of a protected Air Force selection
document. We begin with Mission Capability, which includes the
crucial function of aerial refueling.
