Northrop ramps up charges on Vulcan boosters as redesigned GEM-63XL delivery slips

Northrop Grumman booked a $91 million unfavorable adjustment for its GEM63XL solid rocket motors used on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur boosters, after a $71 million charge earlier this year, and said redesigned motors cleared in a static-fire test should be delivered by year-end (though launch timing remains uncertain). A February Vulcan flight had a significant anomaly, and the U.S. Space Force/DoD are weighing configurations that avoid solid boosters. Northrop expects space-division sales to rise in the second half on higher program volumes and new awards, while HALO’s future faces reassessment as NASA shifts away from Gateway toward a lunar base, with the module potentially repurposed and the contract restructured.