Elodie Collins
Northrop Grumman has conducted a test on its fully digitally designed second-stage solid rocket motor.
The company on Thursday said the large solid rocket motor underwent a static fire test at the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tennessee. In a press release, Northrop shared that it met all its test objectives and has confirmed the performance of the rocket motor.
The milestone comes a few months after the aerospace and defense technology provider completed a static fire test on the Common 50 High-Performance upper-stage solid rocket motor.
Northrop developed the propulsion system using advanced model-based systems engineering, which allows teams to extract data to amend the design or update the manufacturing process based on market demands and mission requirements.
The Falls Church, Virginia-headquartered company also used a digital environment for the rocket’s design and manufacturing.
“We are using digital solutions across our business to produce solid rocket motors with speed, which is transforming how we design, test and manufacture the next generation of systems,” commented Jim Kalberer, vice president of propulsion systems at Northrop.
