Crawler Clears VAB’s Highbay 2 for Commercial Partner

During a practice run, crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2), with the space shuttle-era mobile launch platform-3 (MLP-3) on top, has exited High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and moves slowly along the crawlerway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 1, 2019. The VAB is getting its first commercial tenant. Northrop Grumman signed a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the facilities. The company will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside the massive facility’s High Bay 2. The company also will modify MLP-3 to serve as the launch vehicle’s assembly and launch platform. Northrop Grumman is developing the OmegA rocket, an intermediate/heavy-class launch vehicle, as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force.