A former naval aviator and NASA astronaut who flew on five space shuttle missions, Kent Rominger stressed in an interview that a restructuring could mean the United States will have to rely longer on the Russian-built RD-180 engine that currently powers the workhorse Atlas V rocket. | Northrop Grumman space A glimpse into the space rocket wars Northrop Grumman’s OmegA space is among a trio of competitors for the Air Force’s next-generation space launch system.

The debate is heating up this budget season over the Air Force's multibillion-dollar plan to acquire new space launch services, as Congress considers upending the tight schedule and contracting process.

At the same time, concerns are growing that changes will hurt competitors that have invested huge sums developing new rockets.


"You see things out of the [House Armed Services Committee]," notes Kent Rominger, vice president of flight systems at Northrop Grumman, who is overseeing the development of its new OmegA launch system. "They are saying, 'Hey let's delay it a year. Hey, what if we had three awardees instead of two?'

"Two is the right answer. If you spread it too thin, people's business cases may not close."

A former naval aviator and NASA astronaut who flew on five space shuttle missions, Rominger also stressed in an interview that a restructuring could mean the United States will have to rely longer on the Russian-built RD-180 engine that currently powers the workhorse Atlas V rocket. Congress mandated it must be replaced by an American alternative by 2022.

"You can't have a development program that is so elaborate that you are not going to hit your milestones," he warned.

Northrop Grumman is competing with Blue Origin's New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement.

All three companies were awarded development contracts and the Air Force plans to select two winners next year. SpaceX, which was passed over, recently went to court to try to get another crack at the lucrative project.

Rominger discussed with POLITICO the progress of OmegA, which conducted a successful ground test of its first stage on Thursday, and the commercial prospects for the rocket if the Air Force doesn't choose it.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

How is the development of the OmegA launch system progressing?

The plan we laid out we have been executing and hitting our milestones. We have to design a system that is very reliable, but it's got to be designed so it meets the schedule. We have to fly in early 2021. So we need to design this rocket and make sure we show up on time with it.

We also know that for this customer reliability is the number one priority. As time has gone on, a very close priority is you've got to show up on time. The Atlas V goes away in 2022. Once the RD-180 goes away, the Air Force is in a bind if this thing gets pushed out.

We designed exactly what they said they needed. Developing a new system and maintaining your schedule is a challenge. After [Thursday's test] that test the next major milestone is to fly it. This is the schedule we told the Air Force four year ago.

Congress seems to have some its own ideas about the Air Force should proceed.

You see things out of the HASC. They are saying, 'Hey let's delay it a year. Hey, what if we had three awardees instead of two?'

[The response of the Air Force is] 'Hey, look Congress, you gave us this problem. You are taking the RD-180 away from us. We've got to stay on schedule. Our backs are against the wall, so whatever it is you change, we got to maintain schedule. We'll find ourselves without any good alternatives.'

As far as three awardees, when you look at the markets and the number of launches we have in the future, two makes the most sense. Two is the right answer.

If you spread it too thin, people's business cases may not close. From where I stand, the Air Force has pretty sound logic. You can't have a development program that is so elaborate that you are not going to hit your milestones.

As a taxpayer, I care about these national security space payloads getting safely put on orbit. ... I look at how the Air Force designed this program. It's brilliant. They have three new launch systems because of the way they have structured this.

Where does SpaceX and its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets fit into the picture?

SpaceX has the least amount of development of everybody. They are flying two rockets today. Between the two they can do the majority of what is required. So they probably have a little bit of work to.

There is no reason they can't get there with the system they already have.

If your bid is not selected in the end, how do you see the commercial market shaping up for OmegA?

One of the things they said they needed was for it to be commercially viable. We designed it to make it commercially viable.

This thing was structured to be a combined investment between the government and industry. The rules are government will pay up to two-thirds; industry, we have to bring in at least a third. We are going to put in more than a third. By the time this whole thing is done we will have over half a billion of our own money into it, which is significant.

We are far along on OmegA. So if we aren't selected ... we could easily go either way.

They [the Air Force] get no intellectual property. Markets ebb and flow so we are kind of always watching the markets and what we think the other potentials are out there for OmegA.

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