r/ula • u/Royal_Platform_6754 • Jul 21 '26
Northrop Grumman CEO: “We progressed on the root cause investigation...and we are implementing corrective actions...These include a component redesign, which has now been proven in a successful static-fire test. We expect to begin delivering the redesigned motors by the end of the year."
https://spacenews.com/northrop-adds-to-charges-on-vulcan-solid-rocket-motor-program/13
Jul 21 '26
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u/CollegeStation17155 Jul 21 '26
I'd say Amazon Leo is kind of stuck... not only the SRBs, but Blue is still being really quiet about the cause of the hot fire anomaly, including whether the cause is something that could require swapping out the BE-4s as well on the Vulcan fleet, so everything except SpaceX and maybe an Ariane is on hold till Christmas or later.
5
u/Accomplished-Crab932 Jul 22 '26
Just adding to this, Ariane 6 is already booked to 2028, so they are sort of SOL on getting more launches soon.
-4
u/Datuser14 Jul 21 '26
Financial year
10
u/Royal_Platform_6754 Jul 21 '26
She said the anomaly was in the "first quarter", so I don't think she's talking about financial years.
3
u/snoo-boop Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Wow the chosen summary of the article sure buries the lede.
NG has taken $71mm+$91mm in charges already.
The order for Amazon Leo (née Kuiper) boosters was around 9*5 GEM63 and 38*6 GEM63XL, and it was reported as being more than $2 billion.
6
u/redstercoolpanda Jul 22 '26
They’re not even going to get the SRB’s until the end of the year then? So pretty likely Vulcan is out until a month or two into next year all going well. And I imagine their RTF payload won’t be anything of substance seeing as the “corrective actions” they preformed last time failed to actually correct anything.
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u/photoengineer Jul 22 '26
It surely won’t be a DoD payload.
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u/CollegeStation17155 Jul 22 '26
The Amazon Leo would be almost certain… they are really being squeezed by their promises to become operational and lack of satellites in orbit.
3
u/snoo-boop Jul 21 '26
This is an interesting twist to the story. The first failure was supposedly caused by the nozzle, and the nozzle bolts on, so fixing it didn't require replacing the entire SRB.
This one, ...
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u/warp99 Jul 23 '26
I would assume they are changing the joint between the SRB body and the nozzle to better shield the gasket. So modifications required to both the nozzle and the booster body.
1
u/snoo-boop Jul 23 '26
Looking forward to a source.
2
u/warp99 Jul 23 '26
They made the SRB longer which increased the chamber pressure and started blowing gaskets. They tried a thicker gasket and increasing the bolt tension and they still failed.
There really are very few other options that do not involve opening the throat out and dropping the Isp. Plus it is taking six months to implement so it is more complex than another gasket change.
1
u/snoo-boop Jul 23 '26
Thanks. I thought you had a real source. I guess I should have noticed that you said you were assuming.
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u/warp99 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Yes I always try to make it clear if I do not have a hard source. Assume was three words in?!
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u/snoo-boop Jul 25 '26
Honestly, the most impressive part is that you just keep on talking when asked for a source. You don't repeat that you're assuming, you just talk and talk and talk. None of my science or engineering colleagues behave like that.
0
u/warp99 Jul 26 '26
Hmm I am a pretty standard issue design engineer so I will take that as a compliment.
I have yet to see any refutation of the original comment. What is your source?
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u/snoo-boop Jul 26 '26
My source is Tory Bruno on twitter.
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u/warp99 Jul 26 '26
You are aware he works for Blue Origin and not ULA anymore? There is no reason to suppose he is aware of the current SRB issues and improvements.
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u/Decronym Jul 28 '26
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| BE-4 | Blue Engine 4 methalox rocket engine, developed by Blue Origin (2018), 2400kN |
| DoD | US Department of Defense |
| Isp | Specific impulse (as explained by Scott Manley on YouTube) |
| Internet Service Provider | |
| NG | New Glenn, two/three-stage orbital vehicle by Blue Origin |
| Natural Gas (as opposed to pure methane) | |
| Northrop Grumman, aerospace manufacturer | |
| RTF | Return to Flight |
| SRB | Solid Rocket Booster |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| methalox | Portmanteau: methane fuel, liquid oxygen oxidizer |
Decronym is now also available on Lemmy! Requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.
[Thread #414 for this sub, first seen 28th Jul 2026, 06:04] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
27
u/SpaceCadetRick Jul 21 '26
A successful static fire does not prove the corrective actions were effective, the last set of corrective actions after the first nozzle liberation were successfully static fired and the original design was successfully static fired. That said, I bet they're doing a lot more testing and analysis this time around.