WASHINGTON \u2014 Northrop Grumman is taking another charge related to the solid rocket boosters it provides for the Vulcan Centaur rocket and suggested updated motors might not be ready until the end of the year.<\/p>\n
The company said in the release of its second-quarter earnings July 21 that it took a $91 million unfavorable adjustment to its earnings at completion on its GEM 63XL motor program. Northrop announced a $71 million charge in the first quarter for the same program<\/a>.<\/p>\n That motor is used in the solid rocket boosters on United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan Centaur rocket. On the most recent Vulcan launch in February, a booster suffered a \u201csignificant performance anomaly,\u201d<\/a> although the rocket was still able to place its payload into its planned orbit.<\/p>\n Neither Northrop nor ULA has disclosed details about the cause of the anomaly. In an earnings call, Kathy Warden, president and chief executive of Northrop Grumman, said the company had taken unspecified \u201ccorrective actions\u201d that included new components for the motor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe progressed on the root cause investigation on the GEM 63XL program, and we are implementing corrective actions to address the anomaly we experienced on a launch in the first quarter,\u201d she said. \u201cThese include a component redesign, which has now been proven in a successful static-fire test.\u201d<\/p>\n However, she indicated that the redesigned motors may not be delivered for several months. \u201cWe expect to begin delivering the redesigned motors by the end of the year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Vulcan has not launched since the anomaly on the February launch, and ULA has not disclosed when the vehicle will return to flight. U.S. Space Force officials said in April the service was considering resuming Vulcan launches in a configuration that did not use solid rocket boosters<\/a> but have not announced specific plans to do so.<\/p>\n Despite the problems with the GEM 63XL, Northrop executives were optimistic that the program\u2019s financial performance would improve. John Greene, the company\u2019s chief financial officer, said the company expected sales to increase in its space division in the second half of the year. \u201cThis growth is primarily driven by higher volumes on national security space programs, new awards and improved performance on GEM 63XL,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n HALO update<\/p>\n The company also reported lower performance in the second quarter on the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO, program. That is a module Northrop had been developing for the lunar Gateway.<\/p>\n