OmegA
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.
| Manufacturer | Northrop Grumman / Orbital ATK |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| Payload to GEO | |
| Mass | Heavy: 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) to 7,800 kg (17,200 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Cancelled (2020) |
| Launch sites | Kennedy, LC-39B and Vandenberg SLC-6 |
| Boosters – GEM-63XLT | |
| No. boosters | 2 to 6 |
| Diameter | 1.6 m (63 in) |
| Specific impulse | 279.3 s (2.739 km/s) |
| Propellant | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | Castor 600 (Intermediate) or Castor 1200 (Heavy) Solid Rocket Booster |
| Propellant | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | Castor 300 1-segment Solid Rocket Booster |
| Propellant | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) |
| 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 |
The OmegA design consisted of new composite solid rocket stages with a cryogenic upper stage provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne, replacing earlier plans to use an upper stage engine provided by Blue Origin. 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.
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.
By 2016, actual development was to get underway only once the Air Force reached a funding decision. In October 2018, the Air Force announced that Northrop Grumman was awarded $792 million for initial development of the OmegA launch vehicle.