The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has signed a 10-year contract with Northrop Grumman to build rocket boosters for use in the Artemis Program, which aims to make manned journeys to the Moon.
NASA officials, this contract worth $3.19 billion; He stated that he will contribute to the development of the Artemis Program by meeting the future needs of the agency.
The contract will be valid for 10 years.
With this $3.19 billion contract signed between Northrop Grumman and NASA, the agency authorized the technology company to order long-term products and manufacture twin boosters for Space Launch System (SLS) flight. The new boosters that the team will produce will replace the steel cases already used in the space shuttle with more powerful systems. The contract, which covers the design, development, testing and evaluation of spacecraft strengthening under the Artemis program, will remain valid until December 31, 2031.
“Our boosters are ready to launch the first flight of the Space Launch System on the Artemis I mission. We continue to work on producing boosters for the Artemis II, III and IV missions,” said Bruce Tiller, director of space launch systems at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. In addition, Tiller stated that the contract will cover not only building boosters for upcoming missions, but also booster development and improvement for future flights.
This is not the first contract NASA and Northrop Grumman have signed, and the company has previously made agreements and built projects to support NASA’s lunar missions.