Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace will replace Russian engines in the Antares rocket with American ones: Falcon 9 will deliver cargo to the ISS during the modernization

Northrop Grumman asked for help from Firefly Aerospace to replace the Russian engines in the Antares rocket.

What we know

Northrop Grumman wants to upgrade the first stage of the launch vehicle and install American engines instead of Russian counterparts. Antares is used to send the cargo spacecraft Cygnus to the ISS. During a break due to modernization, SpaceX will deliver cargo to the International Space Station using Falcon 9.

Antares 330 with American engines is expected to debut in two years. Before the supply of RD-181 engines is discontinued, Northrop Grumman plans two launches of the current version of the rocket, Antares 230. The last flight is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.

The Firefly Aerospace startup will not only help upgrade Antares. The young company will reportedly work with Northrop Grumman to build a medium launch vehicle that will be used for civilian and commercial spaceflight.

Details and stages of the contract are not disclosed. The new version of the Antares rocket is expected to be equipped with American Miranda engines instead of the Russian RD-181 manufactured by Energomash.

Source: Teslarati

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