Overview
Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems
Cost: in development
Stages: 3
Boosters: 0 to 6
Height: 59.84 m (196.3 ft)
Diameter: 3.71 m (12.2 ft)
Mass: unknown
Payload capacity (to geostationary transfer orbit): 4,900 to 10,100 kgs (10,800 to 22,300 lbs)
Maiden flight: planned for 2021
Stage 1 (light)
Length: 25 m (est)
Diameter: 3.71 m (est)
Engine: Castor 600
Fuel: HTPB
Thrust:
Burn Time:
Stage 1 (heavy)
Length: 43 m (est)
Diameter: 3.71 m (est)
Engine: Castor 1200
Fuel: HTPB
Thrust:
Burn Time:
Stage 2
Length: 12 m (est)
Diameter: 3.71 m (est)
Engine: Castor 300
Fuel: HTPB
Thrust:
Burn Time:
Stage 3
Length: 9 m (est)
Diameter: 5.25 m (est)
Engine: RL10C
Fuel: LH2/LOX
Thrust: 101.8 kN (22,890 lbf)
Burn Time:
Boosters
Length: 19.244 m (est)
Diameter: 1.55 m (est)
Engine: GEM-63XL
Fuel: HTPB
Thrust:
Burn Time: 90 seconds
The OmegA rocket is a three-stage medium to heavy-lift launch vehicle. The OmegA continued Orbital ATK’s tradition of naming their launch vehicles after constellations. The rocket is named after the largest star cluster in the Milky Way, Omega Centauri.
Orbital ATK hopes to use the OmegA to bid on national security launches for the US Air Force as well as offering it as a commercial launch system. The rocket’s configurable solid-fueled boosters and first, and second stages allow Orbital ATK the flexibility to launch an array of different payload weights while reducing costs.
Development on the rocket began in 2016 with the awarding of $46.9 million in funding from the United States Air Force. The funds were allocated to the provider to develop a next-generation launch vehicle to reduce the United States dependency of the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine.
The OmegA rocket’s first stage will utilise the Castor 600 (medium) or Caster 1200 (heavy) Shuttle-derived Solid Rocket Booster. The solid-fuel booster design is an iterative improvement on the boosters used for NASA’s Shuttle programme. The rocket’s second stage will be powered by the Caster 300 variant of the booster. Finally, the OmegA rocket’s third stage will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney RL-10C-5-1 LOX/LH2 engines.
The boosters will likely be either the Aerojet Rocketdyne GEM-63 booster slated for use on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V, or the upgraded variant, the GEM-63XL which will also power the ULA Vulcan rocket.
In 2017, Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital ATK for $9.2 billion dollars. All Orbital ATK assets were absorbed into Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Development of the OmegA will continue under Northrop Grumman supervision.
