October 22, 2024 | International, Land
August 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Aerojet Rocketdyne to Provide ULA's Vulcan Centaur Key Propulsion for Next Generation of Air Force LSP
The U.S. Air Force selected United Launch Alliance (ULA) as one of two launch service providers under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Services Procurement (LSP). Aerojet Rocketdyne will provide two RL10 rocket engines to power the upper stage of ULA's Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle, as well as the thrusters that control the stage while in flight and the composite overwrapped pressure vessels that store gases required for operation of the launch vehicle.
“Aerojet Rocketdyne congratulates ULA on its selection and we look forward to providing our highly reliable RL10 engine on the Vulcan,” said Eileen P. Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “Aerojet Rocketdyne has supported the nation's most important national security space missions for decades. We will now bring the RL10 engine's tremendous record of mission success to support the next generation of American National Security Space Launch missions.
Under the LSP contract, ULA will support approximately 60% of missions starting in 2022 and continuing through the next five years.
The RL10 engine's outstanding performance and reliability has made it the upper-stage engine of choice for the nation. Built in West Palm Beach, Florida, the RL10 engine is currently used to power the upper stages of ULA's Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, and has supported earlier versions of those vehicles dating back to the early 1960s.
The flight-proven RL10 engine provided the upper-stage propulsion to place hundreds of military, civil and commercial satellites into orbit and has sent spacecraft on their journeys to explore every planet in our solar system. The RL10 engine has been continuously upgraded throughout its service life with recent efforts focused on incorporating additive manufacturing to enhance affordability while maintaining its unequaled performance.
“With 500 engines flown in space, the RL10 has an unmatched reputation worldwide,” added Drake. “We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with ULA as we provide an advanced RL10 engine for Vulcan.”
Source: United Launch Alliance
Date: Aug 8, 2020
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March 23, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
L'Australie crée une agence de défense spatiale
Le gouvernement australien a annoncé ce mardi la création d'un commandement militaire de l'espace, nommé Space Command. Il sera formé sur le modèle de la Space Force des Etats-Unis (USSF), qui existe depuis décembre 2019. Dans un discours prononcé devant l'armée de l'Air australienne, le ministre de la Défense, Peter Dutton, a souligné que l'espace « prendra une plus grande importance militaire au cours de ce siècle ». « L'espace est de plus en plus encombré et déjà contesté notamment parce qu'entre concurrence et conflit, les frontières deviennent de plus en plus floues », a-t-il déclaré, indiquant que le Space Command aura pour objectif de contrer les ambitions militaires de la Chine et de la Russie dans l'espace, ainsi que tous les « pays qui considèrent l'espace comme un territoire à prendre, plutôt qu'un territoire à partager ». Les Echos du 23 mars
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July 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Northrop to upgrade aircraft mission computers for US and Bahrain
Northrop Grumman has secured a contract to perform the technical upgrade of UH-1Y, AH-1Z and UH-60V mission computers for the US and Bahrain. The $104m indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) award will see Northrop Grumman deliver production, retrofit and spare units. Under the Foreign Military Sales Act, these units will be supplied for the US Marine Corps, the Defense Logistics Agency, and Bahrain's military. The company noted that by bringing together several mission computer customers, the contract will help deliver greater cost-efficiency while lowering the logistics footprint. The contract has the potential for placing task or delivery order awards up to the ceiling amount. Northrop Grumman is expected to complete the contract work in December 2023. Northrop Grumman land and avionics C4ISR vice-president James Conroy said: “Northrop Grumman's mission computer delivers mission-critical capability to the warfighter. The system provides improved situational understanding in the rapidly changing threat environment.” The mission computer manufactured by the firm can integrate advanced mission, weapons and video processing capabilities into a high-performance airborne computer. The computer's open architecture enables the centralised display and control of all integrated avionics system functions. These include aircraft performance and flight instruments, on-board sensor and survivability displays, in addition to improved situational awareness and health monitoring information. Furthermore, the mission computer is capable of providing improved capability, commonality, reliability and maintainability to the warfighter. Northrop Grumman will supply up to 503 technical refresh mission computers for the three helicopter models. In 2017, The US Marine Corps fielded the Northrop Grumman's Tech Refresh Mission Computer (TRMC) for the first time on the UH‑1Y and AH-1Z helicopters. Equipment was deployed under the H-1 Upgrade programme that involved replacing the UH-1N and AH-1W helicopters with revamped aircraft. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/northrop-to-upgrade-aircraft-mission-computers-for-us-and-bahrain/