Northrop Grumman Warms Up to Firefly Aerospace -- With a $50 Million Investment
Northrop Grumman has a lot to gain from its relationship with a tiny space upstart.
It's good to have friends (in space).
About three years ago, aerospace and defense giant Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was trying to build a space business and turn itself into a space company -- but it was encountering some difficulties. Lacking a full-size rocket of its own, Northrop Grumman had bought Orbital ATK and its OmegA large rocketship, which was under development. However, when the U.S. Space Force declined to use OmegA, that rocket program was terminated.
Northrop did have another rocket it could use to put satellites in space for its customers. It was only a medium-lift rocket named the "Antares." But at least it was a rocket. The problem was that Ukraine built the first stage for Antares and Russia built the rocket engines. And in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine could no longer build the first stage, and the U.S. banned import of new engines from Russia.
