Hypersonic missile warning payloads in development for Space Force
NewsMarch 03, 2022
FALLS CHURCH, Va. Northrop Grumman Corporation and Ball Aerospace announced a partnership to design and develop the two mission payloads for the U.S. Space Force’s Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (NGP) program.
In May 2020, the U.S. Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $2.37 billion contract for the first phase of NGP program. Together, Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace will aim to design and develop the sensor payloads for the two NGP satellites at Northrop Grumman’s site in Azusa, California.
According to the announcement, the team will also perform systems engineering, flight hardware and ground system design and development, and risk reduction in support of a critical design review.
The two satellites, operating in highly elliptical orbits, will include infrared sensors to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, an enhanced communication system that will transmit mission data to the ground, and resiliency features intended to reduce vulnerabilities to counter-space and cyberattacks.
