Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military tech ...

from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

and parts of

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

in 2015. Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems designed, built, and delivered space, defense, and aviation-related systems to customers around the world both as a prime contractor and as a merchant supplier. It had a workforce of approximately 12,000 employees dedicated to aerospace and defense including about 4,000 engineers and scientists; 7,000 manufacturing and operations specialists; and 1,000 management and administration personnel. With Northrop Grumman's reorganization of its divisions effective January 1, 2020, NGIS was split, with most of the sector merging with other Northrop Grumman businesses into a new Space Systems sector.

History

A merger of

and the defense and aerospace divisions of

(ATK) was announced on April 29, 2014. The two companies had collaborated on several previous projects, including the use of 400 ATK rocket motors in Orbital's launch vehicles. The deal officially closed on February 9, 2015. ATK's sporting-goods division spun off to form Vista Outdoor on the same day. On September 18, 2017,

announced plans to purchase Orbital ATK for US$7.8 billion in cash plus assumption of US$1.4 billion in debt. Orbital ATK shareholders approved the buyout on November 29, 2017. The

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

(FTC) approved the acquisition with conditions on June 5, 2018, and on June 6, 2018, Orbital ATK was absorbed and became Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

Organization

Flight Systems Group

Based in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to t ...

, the Flight Systems Group includes the Pegasus,

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "p ...

, and Antares launch vehicles as well as solid-propulsion and aerostructures programs. The company also operates a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar wide body jetliner, which is named

Stargazer Stargazer may refer to: * an observational astronomer, particularly an amateur Aerospace * Stargazer (aircraft), a Lockheed L-1011 airliner used to launch the Pegasus rocket * Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2, nicknamed Stargazer, the first ...

and is used to air launch Pegasus rockets carrying payloads into space. The

aircraft is also used for testing under specific programs. The Flight Systems Group became part of Northrop Grumman Space Systems on January 1, 2020.

Defense Systems Group

The Defense Systems Group, based in the

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

area, produces tactical missiles, defense electronics, and medium- and large-caliber ammunition. The division also produces fuzing and warheads for both tactical missiles and munitions; precision metal and composite structures for medium and large-caliber ammunition, military aircraft, ground vehicles, and missile systems; load, assembly, and pack (LAP) of medium caliber munitions; and propellants and powders for the canister and commercial markets. The Defense Systems Group became part of Northrop Grumman Defense Systems on January 1, 2020.

Space Systems Group

Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group provides satellites for commercial, scientific, and security purposes. This group also produces the Cygnus spacecraft, which delivers cargo to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

. The group is based at the company's headquarters on Warp Drive in Dulles, Virginia. The Space Systems Group became part of Northrop Grumman Space Systems on January 1, 2020.

Products

Rockets

* Antares, two- or three-stage medium-lift expendable launch vehicle * Minotaur I, four-stage small-lift expendable launch vehicle *

Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying ...

, four-stage small-lift expendable launch vehicle *

Minotaur V The Minotaur V is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minotaur IV, itself a derivative of the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, (now absorbed into Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) an ...

, five-stage launch vehicle used for geosynchronous transfer orbits and trans-lunar orbits * Minotaur VI, five-stage medium-lift expendable launch vehicle * Minotaur-C, four-stage small-lift expendable launch vehicle * Pegasus, air-launched four-stage small-lift launch vehicle *

OmegA Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

, A cancelled medium to heavy lift launch vehicle.

Rocket engines

* GEM-40, solid rocket booster used on the

Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 va ...

rocket * GEM-60, solid rocket booster used on the

Delta IV Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, th ...

rocket * GEM-63, solid rocket booster used on the

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Mart ...

rocket * GEM-63XL, solid rocket booster planned to be used on the Vulcan rocket * Castor 4, solid rocket used on the Maxus sounding rocket *

Castor 30 The Castor family of solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters built by Thiokol (now Northrop Grumman) and used on a variety of launch vehicles. They were initially developed as the second-stage motor of the Scout rocket. The design was based on the ...

, solid rocket used on the Antares rocket * Castor 120, solid rocket used on the Minotaur-C rocket * Space Launch System Solid Rocket Booster, based on the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

Spacecraft

ISS-45 Cygnus 5 approaching the ISS - crop

* Al Yah 3, communications satellite for

Al Yah Satellite Communications Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat) is a public company listed on thAbu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company PJSC, offering multi-mission satellite services in more than 150 countries ...

HYLAS-4 HYLAS-4 is a telecommunications satellite owned and operated by Avanti Communications and manufactured by Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) that was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket on 5 April 2018. Mission The satellite is buil ...

, communications satellite for Avanti Communications * SES-16, communications satellite for SES S.A. *

Landsat 9 Landsat 9 is an Earth observation satellite launched on 27 September 2021 from Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle. NASA is in charge of building, launching, and testing the satellite, whi ...

, environmental satellite for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

and

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) * JPSS-2, weather and environmental satellite for

and

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

* ICESat-2, ice-topography satellite for

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS, Explorer 95 or MIDEX-7) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorer program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the ''Keple ...

(TESS), space telescope for

* Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICE), science mission for

* Cygnus, automated

cargo spacecraft Cargo spacecraft are robotic spacecraft that are designed to carry cargo, possibly to support space stations' operation by transporting food, propellant and other supplies. This is different from a space probe, whose missions are to conduct sc ...

to supply the ISS *

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

, space probe for

currently in decaying orbit around Ceres

Munitions

* Mk310 PABM-T air burst rounds for MK44.

Firearms

* XM25 CDTE, an airburst grenade launcher.

References

{{Satcomm Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Commercial launch service providers Companies based in Dulles, Virginia Manufacturing companies established in 2015 American companies established in 2015 Rocket engine manufacturers of the United States Private spaceflight companies Spacecraft manufacturers Ammunition manufacturers Defense companies of the United States 2015 establishments in Virginia Orbital Sciences Corporation Innovation Systems 2018 mergers and acquisitions American corporate subsidiaries