EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 3, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Dayton, Ohio, will help move the Air Force closer to its goal of developing reusable launch systems under a new concept research and development contract.

The four-year, $2.9 million effort is known as the Advanced Development of Integrated Warm Structures (ADIWS). It will demonstrate the relative weight and performance benefits of using different types of thermal protection systems (TPS) and composite materials to produce reusable, two-stage-to-orbit launch systems. The contract will build on work that Northrop Grumman has done previously with NASA to mature TPS technologies for composite reusable launch vehicles.

The ADIWS contract is being issued as a task order under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract managed by Universal Technology Corporation, Dayton, Ohio.

"Vehicles going through re-entry generally experience thermal conditions that exceed the limits of a normal metal airframe and skin," explains Dennis Poulos, director of military space programs for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "These conditions force us to depend on heavy and expensive TPS materials much like the Space Shuttle would use. By using higher temperature composite structures and panels, we'll be able to use fewer TPS materials on our airframe, resulting in a lighter weight, higher performing vehicle that's less expensive to operate and maintain."

Under the ADIWS contract, Northrop Grumman and the Air Force will design and produce hardware that will test the performance and durability of both metallic and non-metallic TPS materials on traditional graphite-epoxy composites, and a newer, more heat-resistant composite material called polyimide.

Polyimide-based composites can withstand re-entry temperatures of up to 600 F, whereas traditional graphite epoxy composites will melt above 250 F if not covered with TPS materials.

According to Tod Palm, Northrop Grumman's lead engineer on the contract, the baseline hardware for the contract will be a traditional graphite epoxy panel to which metal TPS materials have been attached. The panel will be subjected to rigorous thermal, vibration and acoustic testing in a test facility at AFRL. The panel will also be tested with non-metallic TPS attached.

In a second phase of the contract, the team will design and test a polyimide composite panel containing both metallic TPS and carbon-silicon carbide (C-SiC) composite TPS. This integrated polyimide panel will also be tested at the AFRL facility.

"These tests will validate the performance of our elevated temperature airframe and non-metallic TPS materials," said Palm. "The Air Force has estimated that using non-metallic TPS materials on a polyimide airframe could reduce the weight of the TPS by approximately 46 percent compared to using metallic TPS on a graphite epoxy airframe. We intend to demonstrate that these newer, lighter weight technologies offer a mature, high-confidence approach to producing reusable launch systems."

Northrop Grumman is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. 

  CONTACT:  Brooks McKinney, APR
          Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
          (310) 331-6610 office
          (310) 864-3785 cell
          brooks.mckinney@ngc.com

          Jim Hart
          Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
          (310) 331-3616 office
          james.f.hart@ngc.com