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Vulcan booster issues push Northrop deliveries back again
Northrop Grumman took another $91 million charge on Vulcan’s GEM 63XL boosters and now expects updated deliveries only by late 2026.
Image: iXBT
Northrop Grumman has reported another financial hit tied to the GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters used on Vulcan Centaur, extending the fallout from the rocket’s February launch anomaly. In the second quarter, the company booked an additional $91 million charge on the program, after a similar $71 million loss in the previous quarter.
The company said the losses stem from continued redesign work after the February mission, when one of Vulcan’s side boosters suffered a “serious performance anomaly.” Despite that, the rocket still placed its payload into the planned orbit. Neither Northrop Grumman nor United Launch Alliance has disclosed the cause of the failure, but Northrop said the investigation is complete and corrective actions are now being implemented.
According to Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden, engineers redesigned one engine component, and the updated version has already passed a successful static fire test. But volume deliveries of the upgraded GEM 63XL boosters are now expected only by the end of 2026.
Since the February anomaly, Vulcan has not flown again, and ULA has not announced a return-to-flight date. The U.S. Space Force had previously said it was considering temporarily using a Vulcan configuration without solid rocket boosters, but no decision has been announced.
Northrop also said work on the HALO module for the lunar-orbiting Gateway station is being revised. After NASA moved away from the original Gateway concept in favor of building a lunar base, the contract is being restructured. Northrop said it expects to adapt HALO technologies for NASA’s new plans, though that will reduce near-term revenue from the program.
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Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
