Orbital ATK revealed details of its all-American OmegA™ launch vehicle supporting the Evolved, Expandable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program for the U.S. Air Force this week at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
The new rocket will compete against United Launch Alliance and SpaceX launch vehicles.
Similar to the company’s other rockets, which are named after constellations or stars, the name also represents the largest star cluster in the Milky Way.
Called Omega Centauri, this cluster contains approximately 10 million stars and a total mass equivalent to 4 million solar masses. It is one of the few star clusters visible to the naked eye.
OmegA is a three-stage rocket augmented by adding up to six strap-on boosters. The rocket takes advantage of flight-proven Orbital ATK avionics, software and other components that are common across all its products.
The first and second stages are the company’s large-class solid propellant motors with composite cases. These can be configured in various combinations to build first and second stage boosters for intermediate- and heavy-class configurations.
OmegA’s cryogenic third stage is powered by Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10C engine. The vehicle also incorporates Orbital ATK large composites interstages and five-meter fairing.
The program remains solidly on track to complete static tests of our first and second stages by mid-2019. Orbital ATK is building tooling for the upper stage and will start producing propellant tanks early next year. Major design reviews for the launch vehicle and launch site at Kennedy Space Center will occur this summer.
Initial flights of OmegA’s intermediate configuration will begin in early 2021, which will certify the vehicle for EELV missions later that year. The initial heavy configuration certification flights begin in 2024.
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