Jamie Bennet
The performance of Northrop Grumman’s second-stage intercontinental ballistic missile solid rocket motor has been demonstrated before the U.S. Air Force at the branch’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tennessee.
The company announced Tuesday that it conducted a live, static-fire test of the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM stage-two rocket motor through a high-altitude and space flight simulation inside a vacuum chamber.
Sentinel has three functional stages, with the first two currently in the design and production phase. The live fire test enables Northrop to proceed with rocket motor qualification trials for both stages.
The test results will be compared to digitally engineered model predictions to lower risks in the design.
Northrop won the engineering, manufacturing and development contract from the Air Force for the next-generation ICBM and continues to collaborate with the service branch to advance contract milestones.
