United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket launched the U.S. Space Force’s USSF-87 mission early Feb. 12, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: ULA
WASHINGTON — 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.
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.
That motor is used in the solid rocket boosters on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. On the most recent Vulcan launch in February, a booster suffered a “significant performance anomaly,” although the rocket was still able to place its payload into its planned orbit.
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 “corrective actions” that included new components for the motor.
