Manufacturing & industry
Northrop Grumman
NYSE-listed defence contractor whose Space Systems sector builds the Cygnus station freighter, solid rocket motors and the James Webb Space Telescope's spacecraft bus.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American defence and aerospace contractor formed in 1994, when Northrop bought Grumman Aerospace for $2.1 billion, and run from West Falls Church, Virginia. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange as NOC, employed roughly 95,000 people in 2025, and splits its work across four sectors: Aeronautics Systems, Mission Systems, Defense Systems and Space Systems, the last of which supplied 27 percent of 2024 revenues and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company reported sales of $42.0 billion for 2025, net earnings of $4.2 billion or $29.08 a diluted share, and a record backlog of $95.7 billion at year end.
Most of its launch and cargo hardware arrived with the $9.2 billion purchase of Orbital ATK in 2018, which brought the Antares rocket, the Cygnus freighter and a solid-motor business that supplies boosters for NASA's Space Launch System. Antares flew 18 times from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, and lost one vehicle on 28 October 2014, when an Orb-3 first-stage turbopump failed six seconds after liftoff and the rocket fell back onto the pad with a Cygnus aboard. The last Antares 230+ flew on 2 August 2023; Cygnus has ridden SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets since, and the Firefly Aerospace-powered Antares 330, built around seven Miranda engines, has yet to fly.
Cygnus has delivered more than 158,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station since its first flight in 2013. The current Cygnus XL carries 33 percent more than the previous variant, roughly 2,600 pounds of extra capacity, but its introduction has been rough. The NG-22 mission was shelved in March 2025 after heavy equipment struck the shipping container holding its Thales Alenia Space-built pressurised cargo module, and on the first Cygnus XL flight that September two orbit-raising burns stopped earlier than planned, delaying the spacecraft's arrival at the station. The second Cygnus XL, NG-24, launched on 11 April 2026 carrying about 11,000 pounds and was captured by the station's robotic arm two days later.
Beyond resupply, Northrop Grumman was prime contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope, building the satellite bus, sunshield and deployable tower for an observatory that launched on 25 December 2021 against a NASA lifetime cost of $9.7 billion, and its SpaceLogistics unit flew the first commercial servicing docking in geostationary orbit when MEV-1 latched onto Intelsat's IS-901 on 25 February 2020 for a five-year life extension. Its Moon work has gone less smoothly. Corrosion found throughout the HALO habitation module for NASA's Lunar Gateway pushed delivery out by years; in April 2026, with the contract at $1.9 billion, NASA issued a stop-work order, and by August 2026 the two sides had recast the hardware into three Lunar Infrastructure Demo missions meant to survive the lunar night at the Moon's south pole.
What they build and operate
- Cygnus XL · Spacecraft · Operational
Pressurised cargo freighter for the International Space Station, carrying 33 percent more than the previous Cygnus and launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets; the second XL flew in April 2026 with about 11,000 pounds aboard.[10][9][7] - Antares 330 · Launch vehicle · In development
Rebuilt Antares with a Firefly Aerospace first stage using seven Miranda engines, to fly from Pad 0A at Wallops Island; it has not yet launched.[2][6] - Solid rocket motors · Component · Operational
Solid rocket motors and boosters, including motors for NASA's Space Launch System and Graphite-Epoxy Motors.[1] - James Webb Space Telescope spacecraft element · Spacecraft · Operational
Satellite bus, sunshield, deployable tower assembly and mid boom assembly built as prime contractor for the observatory launched on 25 December 2021.[3] - SpaceLogistics Mission Extension Vehicle · Service · Operational
Satellite life-extension spacecraft that docks to ageing geostationary satellites; MEV-1 docked with Intelsat IS-901 on 25 February 2020 for five years of service.[4] - Lunar Infrastructure Demos · Programme · Announced
Three missions, LID-1, LID-2 and LID-3, reusing HALO-derived power, thermal, autonomy and communications hardware to test surviving the lunar night at the Moon's south pole.[11]
Milestones
- 1994
Northrop bought Grumman Aerospace for $2.1 billion, creating Northrop Grumman.[1] - 2002
Acquired TRW Inc. for $7.8 billion.[1] - 28 October 2014
An Antares exploded six seconds after liftoff at Wallops Island and fell back onto the pad, destroying the Orb-3 Cygnus; the rocket was then operated by Orbital Sciences, which Northrop Grumman bought in 2018.[2] - 2018
Acquired Orbital ATK for $9.2 billion, adding the Antares rocket, the Cygnus freighter and solid rocket motors.[1] - 25 February 2020
MEV-1 docked with Intelsat's IS-901, the first commercial satellite-servicing docking in geostationary orbit.[4] - 25 December 2021
The James Webb Space Telescope launched on an Ariane 5, using the Northrop Grumman-built satellite bus and sunshield.[3] - 02 August 2023
The final Antares 230+ launched Cygnus NG-19, ending Antares flights until the 330 variant is ready.[2] - March 2025
NASA and Northrop Grumman shelved the NG-22 resupply mission after heavy equipment damaged its pressurised cargo module in shipping from Turin.[5] - 29 May 2025
Invested $50 million in Firefly Aerospace to speed the shared first stage behind Antares 330 and the Eclipse launch vehicle.[6] - 14 September 2025
The first Cygnus XL launched, then had two orbit-raising burns stop earlier than planned, delaying its arrival at the space station.[7] - 27 January 2026
Reported 2025 sales of $42.0 billion and a record backlog of $95.7 billion.[8] - April 2026
NASA issued a stop-work order on the HALO Gateway module with the contract value at $1.9 billion.[11] - 11 April 2026
The second Cygnus XL, NG-24, launched on a Falcon 9 with about 11,000 pounds of cargo and was captured by the station on 13 April.[9][10] - August 2026
NASA and Northrop Grumman recast HALO hardware into three Lunar Infrastructure Demo missions for the Moon's south pole.[11]
Facilities
- Launch Pad 0A · Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Virginia, United States
Antares launch pad.[2] - Space Systems sector headquarters · McLean, Virginia, United States
Home of the sector that supplies space and launch systems to commercial and government customers.[1]
Leadership
- Kathy Warden
Chair, chief executive officer and president (as of 27 January 2026)[8][1] - David Schiller
Vice president, civil space and sciences (as of 11 April 2026)[10][11]
Sources
WikipediaNorthrop Grummanen.wikipedia.org
WikipediaAntares (rocket)en.wikipedia.org
WikipediaJames Webb Space Telescopeen.wikipedia.org
TechCrunchIn-space satellite servicing proves successful in record-breaking orbital spacecraft operationtechcrunch.com
The RegisterISS resupply and trash pickup craft postponed indefinitely after Cygnus container crunchtheregister.com
Via SatelliteFirefly and Northrop Grumman's New Rocket Gets a Name, and $50M Investmentsatellitetoday.com
Spaceflight NowNASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus XL arrival to ISS following propulsion issuespaceflightnow.com
TradingViewNorthrop Grumman Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Resultstradingview.com
NASANASA Science, Cargo Launch Aboard Northrop Grumman CRS-24nasa.gov
Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Expands Cargo Capacity with NG-24 Cygnus XL Launchnews.northropgrumman.com
Spaceflight NowNASA, Northrop Grumman repurpose Gateway elements for Moon Base demo missionsspaceflightnow.com
Coverage of Northrop Grumman
Military satellite communications
Space Force awards five vendors to test shared data-network interfaces
Five companies will each receive a $12 million prototype package to show that independently built satellites and terminals can exchange data through the Space Data Network. The demonstrations are integration tests, not orders for an operational fleet, and they sit beside a separate $2.29 billion backbone award made to SpaceX in May.
Lunar infrastructure
Northrop outlines three lunar demos using HALO systems; no NASA award disclosed
The company says power, data and mechanical interfaces can be reused after Gateway’s cancellation. It does not identify the flight hardware, funding, launch dates or landing providers.
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