History
The company that was to propose the Omega launch vehicle in 2016, Orbital ATK (which was subsequently acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2018), through its predecessor company Alliant Techsystems (ATK),[9] had developed the solid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle in the 1970s–1980s, and military Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) prior to that. With the 2004 announcement of the retirement of the Space Shuttle,[10] the company was active in trying to find government purchasers of its, now, 30+ year old solid-propellant rocket technology to continue using the technology for orbital launch vehicles.
From 2004 through 2020, they continued to approach both the US government's civil space agency, NASA, and its military with proposals to develop continued government-funded opportunities to design, build, and support the orbital space application of solid rocket technology. They were successful, as NASA selected ATK's technology for the Ares I crewed launch vehicle in 2005, with ATK supplying a five-segment solid rocket booster as the first stage while also being the primary contractor for the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), which was to have a more standard liquid-propellant powered upper stage.[11] In January 2016 they were successful again when Orbital ATK was one of two companies awarded funds by the United States Air Force to develop technologies to eliminate dependency on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine for U.S. national security payloads.[12] The award was worth an initial US$46.9 million, with an option for up to US$180.2 million total. This was to be matched by US$31.1 million initially, and up to US$124.8 million in company funds if all options of the contract are exercised. The contract would fund the development of three technologies in support of the Omega rocket, then called Next Generation Launcher: the GEM-63XL strap-on booster, a Common Booster Core, and an extendable nozzle for the BE-3U upper stage engine. A previous effort, funded by NASA, demonstrated the technology for a composite motor case to replace the metal motor cases used for Space Shuttle SRBs.[13]
In May 2016, Orbital ATK revealed their plans for the Next Generation Launcher, including the configuration and the intended business case.[4] The Next Generation Launcher intends to make use of existing launch infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), including the Vehicle Assembly Building used by the Space Shuttle, with the possibility of polar orbit launches occurring from Vandenberg Air Force Base. NASA began looking for commercial users to operate unused space within the Vehicle Assembly Building in June 2015, and by April 2016, it was announced that Orbital ATK was in negotiations to lease High Bay 2.[14] Orbital ATK claimed that a minimum of 5–6 launches per year would be required to make the rocket profitable. Full development and introduction will be dependent on both demand and funding from the U.S. Air Force. A final "go/no-go decision" to proceed with full development and introduction of the Next Generation Launcher took place in early 2018.[15]
In April 2017, Orbital ATK revealed that Omega would be launched from pad 39B at KSC, sharing launch facilities and mobile transporter with the NASA Space Launch System (SLS). The rocket would compete for USAF national security launches and NASA missions. There would be multiple configurations of the launch system, with multiple stages.
In April 2018, Orbital ATK announced that Next Generation Launcher would be named Omega. Additionally, they revealed the selection of the RL-10C engine over Blue Origin's BE-3U competitor. The intermediate configuration, with a Castor 600 first stage, increased payload to GTO from 8500 kg to 10100 kg. The Castor 1200-powered Heavy configuration increased GEO payload from 7000 kg to 7800 kg and has a TLI capability of up to 12,300 kg (27,000 lb).[2]
Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018, and Omega became a Northrop Grumman product.[16][17]
In October 2018, Omega was awarded a Launch Services Agreement worth US$791,601,015 to design, build and launch the first Omega rockets.[18]
In late May 2019, while conducting a static fire test of the first stage SRB, an anomaly occurred resulting in the destruction of the SRB nozzle (but not the stage itself).[19] A thorough investigation revealed that the differential pressure between the nozzle's internal pressure and surface pressure following the static fire test was greater than expected; when thrust levels dropped below a critical point upon completion of the static fire, the outside air crushed the nozzle "in an instant, just like a soda can".[20]
In 2019, Northrop Grumman bid the Omega launch vehicle to the US Air Force for the multi-year block buy launch contract that would cover all US national security launches in 2022–2026.[21]
On 7 August 2020, the US Department of the Air Force announced the results of the approximately US3.5 billion National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement, selecting only SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) to supply launches to the US Department of Defense in the 2022–2027 timeframe. NGIS Omega was not selected.[7] The Air Force said they would wind down any remaining Omega development contracts from phase 1, and not pay out the entire maximum amount of the earlier 2019 contract to NGIS. The Air Force stated that they would work with NGSS "to determine the right point to tie off their work under the LSA agreements. ... The goal is not to carry them indefinitely, the point of an LSA was to create a more competitive environment".
NGSS indicated they were "disappointed by the decision",[7] and on 9 September 2020 they released a statement announcing the cancellation of the Omega launch vehicle program[8] as NGSS depended on the funding from the US military to develop the vehicle.[22]
