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Northrop Grumman News
NORTHROP GRUMMAN’S SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS HELP POWER FIRST LAUNCH OF ULA’S VULCAN ROCKET
The GEM 63XL boosters are the longest monolithic, single-cast solid rocket boosters ever manufactured and flown.
Two Northrop Grumman-built GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters provide additional thrust to help successfully launch the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur Rocket. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)
Two of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s extended-length, 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM 63XL) solid rocket boosters helped power the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Rocket and the first certification (Cert-1) mission.
Details on GEM 63XL:
The Cert-1 mission carried two payloads, one that will deliver science and technology to the lunar surface, including Astrobotic’s first Peregrine Lunar Lander, Peregrine Mission One, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and the second was Celestis’ Memorial Spaceflights deep-space Voyager mission.
Northrop Grumman began development of the fifth-generation GEM 63XL strap-on boosters in 2015, under a cooperative agreement with ULA to provide additional lift capability for the Vulcan launch vehicle. The motor was qualified for flight in 2020 via static test firing at the company’s Promontory, Utah, test facilities. In June 2022, ULA awarded Northrop Grumman a multi-year contract worth more than $2 billion for increased production of its GEM boosters, which will support Amazon’s Project Kuiper and additional ULA customers.
Northrop Grumman has supplied rocket propulsion to ULA and its heritage companies for various launch vehicles since 1964. The GEM 63XL is an extended-length variation of the GEM 63 boosters, which have supported eight Atlas V launches with 27 boosters to date.
www.northropgrumman.comTwo of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s extended-length, 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM 63XL) solid rocket boosters helped power the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Rocket and the first certification (Cert-1) mission.
Details on GEM 63XL:
The Cert-1 mission carried two payloads, one that will deliver science and technology to the lunar surface, including Astrobotic’s first Peregrine Lunar Lander, Peregrine Mission One, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and the second was Celestis’ Memorial Spaceflights deep-space Voyager mission.
Northrop Grumman began development of the fifth-generation GEM 63XL strap-on boosters in 2015, under a cooperative agreement with ULA to provide additional lift capability for the Vulcan launch vehicle. The motor was qualified for flight in 2020 via static test firing at the company’s Promontory, Utah, test facilities. In June 2022, ULA awarded Northrop Grumman a multi-year contract worth more than $2 billion for increased production of its GEM boosters, which will support Amazon’s Project Kuiper and additional ULA customers.
Northrop Grumman has supplied rocket propulsion to ULA and its heritage companies for various launch vehicles since 1964. The GEM 63XL is an extended-length variation of the GEM 63 boosters, which have supported eight Atlas V launches with 27 boosters to date.
