Northrop Grumman Space Systems

Flight record

These are launches under NGSS’s own name in The Space Devs’ Launch Library. They don’t count missions or payloads. A spacecraft that flew on someone else’s rocket counts for the operator that flew it.

Operator or customer

An operator owns the rocket and runs the count, and the launch schedule filters by operator. A customer pays for the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. Some organisations are both. Below, NGSS is counted in whichever role the current schedule gives it.

No scheduled flight names NGSS with someone else flying it.

How we count it: a scheduled launch counts as a customer flight when this organisation’s name or abbreviation is in the launch name, mission name or programme, and someone else is flying it. We don’t search mission descriptions, and we only see the schedule as far as it goes, which is 2039-12-31 00:00:00Z. So treat both counts as a minimum.

About NGSS

Northrup Grumman Space Systems designs, builds and delivers space, defence and aviation-related systems to customers around the world. They aquired Orbital ATK in 2018 along with its launchers and ongoing missions.

Upcoming launches

• Minotaur IV | EWS OD-1

  Minotaur IV · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  H1 2027

  TBDNET HALF-YEAROrbit: SSOVehicle file

The label on each flight says how exact its launch time is. If the date is only known to the month, you’ll see the month and no countdown. A weather go-probability only shows when Launch Library has one for that flight. EveryLaunch doesn’t work it out.

NGSS in the archive

From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.

Common questions

How many launches has Northrop Grumman Space Systems flown?

Northrop Grumman Space Systems has flown 17 launches under its own name. 17 succeeded and 0 failed. That counts launches it flew itself, not missions or payloads it contributed to.

What is Northrop Grumman Space Systems's success rate?

100.0%. That's 17 successful flights out of 17 attempts. Its last 17 launches in a row have succeeded.

When is Northrop Grumman Space Systems's next launch?

Minotaur IV | EWS OD-1, set for the first half of 2027 from Space Launch Complex 8. Launch Library files only the first half of the year, so the date is a placeholder. Launch times are no-earlier-than targets and can move.

Does Northrop Grumman Space Systems fly its own rockets, or buy launches from another operator?

Northrop Grumman Space Systems has flown 17 launches under its own name. It's the operator on 1 scheduled flight. An operator owns the rocket and runs the count. A customer pays for the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. The operator filter on the launch schedule only lists operators, so a well-known agency can own a mission and still not show up there.

Where is Northrop Grumman Space Systems based?

United States of America. Launch Library lists it as a commercial operator, founded in 2015.