Northrop Grumman has casted the first live motor segment of a new rocket designed for intermediate- and heavy-lift launches.
The company said Wednesday it developed the CASTOR 600 segment under the Common Boost Segment program that aims to address requirements of the new OmegA rocket.
The rocket is intended to comply with the U.S. Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program that works to send intermediate and heavy national security payloads to space.
Northrop used 33K gallons of propellant to cast the C600 segment that is considered as the heaviest unit developed within the CBS program.
Tests for the C600 and the succeeding C300 will take place in 2019 to confirm the first and second stage performance of the rocket’s configuration for intermediate lifts.