As the Space Force plans for its next phase of competition for the National Security Space Launch program, Northrop Grumman officials said this week they are closely watching the process as they weigh whether to invest in a system to compete for that effort.
The company last year opted to stop development on its OmegA rocket after the Space Force selected United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to be its sole launch services providers for NSSL Phase 2 missions.
Speaking with reporters this week, the director of Northrop’s launch and missile defense systems division, Jo Cangianelli, said company representatives will attend a Space Force industry day next week to hear more about the service's plans for the next phase of competition.
"We plan to attend, but we're going to look at what their intentions are for just extensions of the current contracts that they have today or whether or not they're going to be looking at something beyond that," she said. "That's the trade that we're going to do in terms of the level of investment that's required for moving forward in that area."
Kevin Richardson, Northrop's director of launch vehicles business development, said the company will "continue to trade different opportunities and different options for investing in future capabilities."
"Of course, it's very market-driven and where the government customer would like to go," he noted.
The company is looking beyond the NSSL trade space and considering other payload classes and orbital regimes, he added.
The Space Force plans to request proposals for NSSL Phase 3 launch solutions in 2023. The Aug. 17 industry day will include a discussion of the service's Phase 3 strategy and possible incentives for companies developing medium and heavy launch capabilities. The service will also meet with would-be Phase 3 providers.
"The launch enterprise values our industry partnerships and looks forward to continued engagement resulting in the development of an innovative acquisition strategy to maintain assured access to space in a competitive and contested environment," the service said in an industry day notice last month.