SEPTEMBER/
OCTOBER 2015
Quality Is a
Team Sport
The New Breed
12
The High-Q of STSS
30
10
CERTAINTY
WHEN THE WORLD CALLED FOR
STSS-Demonstration satellites’ global view allows them to track
ballistic missiles through all phases of flight—from launch through intercept.
Approved for Public Release
14-MDA-7928 (29 July 14)
© 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation
PERSPECTIVES
MISSION EXCELLENCE
CONTENTS
5
PERSPECTIVES
6
HEADLINES
8
HERITAGE
10
COVER STORY
12
INGENUITY IN ACTION
14
ACROSS THE SECTOR
24
HOMEFRONT
26
COMMUNITY
A View from Leadership
Northrop Grumman in the News
Milestones in Northrop Grumman History
28
Quality Is a Team Sport
Our Latest Innovative Solutions
Community Outreach
You Make A Difference
PERFORMANCE
Products and Program Updates
COVER STORY
“When you’re on a team, you rely
on people to do their job ... Trust
is inherent in the team.”
— Art delaCruz, director,
Strategic Planning,
Global Strategy and
Mission Solutions
Teammates at work and on the ice: Northrop
Grumman Fighters (l-r) Mike Tierney,
Art delaCruz and Adam Ugolnik.
Cover photo by Alex Evers
Art Lofton
Sector Vice President, Global Mission Excellence
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
What does mission excellence
mean to you?
It’s a question we ask people
around the sector all the time.
From colleagues fresh out
of school to executives with
decades of experience, the
answers are as unique as each
individual:
“Mission excellence means doing
the job right the first time.”
“Mission excellence means
delivering on our promises.”
“Mission excellence is working
together toward one goal.”
Each of these answers is right,
because each of us defines
and delivers excellence in our
own way. We’ve found that the
responses, as varied as the
jobs we all do, have a common
theme: Mission excellence means
doing our absolute best, every
day, regardless of our particular
mission.
To me, mission excellence means
building quality into the life cycle
early on and delivering results
through collaboration.
Collectively we know how
important our customers
are, we know the dangerous
environments in which they
operate, and we design and build
our products to work for them as
intended. So how can we do more
to make a difference for them?
By making quality personal.
We are a huge organization
doing very complicated things,
but, in a culture of quality, each
of us must stand for mission
excellence every day. It’s as easy
—and as challenging—as pausing
for a moment and asking tough
questions:
What’s the proper thing to do in
this situation?
colleagues who have asked these
questions and then taken personal
responsibility for excellence. And
every October we hold quality
symposiums around the company
to celebrate mission excellence.
I hope you’ll join us again for
this year’s events in El Segundo,
Palmdale and St. Augustine, in
person or online.
What makes working at Northrop
Grumman so special is that, every
day, we have an opportunity to
make a difference for our nation’s
heroes and for global security. It’s
an important mission that leads us
to ask:
What does mission excellence
mean to you?
Does this drawing look right?
Is this a problem I should take
to someone?
Quality is in each of us who
make mission excellence
a priority every single
day. Every month, the My
Quality Counts and Quality
Superstar awards honor
our especially engaged
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
5
36
HEADLINES
Jones Takes the
High Road
Northrop Grumman’s Ethics
High Road Award reinforces
ethical behavior and recognizes
employees who exemplify integrity
and inspire others around them to
do the right thing.
Sector Vice President, Communications
Cynthia Curiel
Director, Enterprise Communications
Cyndi Wegerbauer
Manager, Employee Communications
Ann Akutagawa
Executive Editor
Kathy Ford
Managing Editor
Linda Javier
Creative Director
Adam Ugolnik
Art Director
Antoinette Bing Zaté
Advertising Coordinator
Darrell Brock
Contributors
Sarah Bishop, Roz Bliss, Chris Boyd,
John Bruner, Ann Carney, Mitch Chavarria,
Tom Henson, Sally Koris, Michelle Meyer,
Brooks McKinney, Bonnie Poindexter,
Alan Radecki, Christina Thompson,
Kaeleena Vardoulakis, AnnaMaria White
Editorial Board
Jessica Burtness, Alex Evers, Steve Fisher,
Kathy Ford, Linda Javier, Sally Koris,
Christina Thompson, Katherine Thompson,
Adam Ugolnik, Antoinette Bing Zaté
Inside Aerospace magazine is published
for employees by Aerospace Systems
Communications. Archives are available
on the intranet. Please contact Kathy Ford
(kathleen.ford@ngc.com) for permission to
reprint, excerpt material, request additional
copies, or to provide story ideas.
All photography courtesy of Northrop Grumman
unless otherwise indicated.
Inside Aerospace
© 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation
All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA
6
36
San Diego State University’s Mechatronics RoboSub team won the 2015 International
RoboSub competition and the $6,000 top prize.
Photo courtesy of the AUVSI Foundation
Northrop Grumman
Sponsors Winning
Team in RoboSub
Competition
Earlier this summer, 37 teams
from around the world competed
to become champion of the 18th
Annual International RoboSub
competition.
This competition, held in San
Diego, is sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International (AUVSI)
and U.S. Office of Naval Research,
and brings talented student teams
together from across the globe
who work their way through a
number of underwater challenges.
Following several days of
competitive tasks, scored by a
panel of judges, the San Diego
State’s Mechatronics RoboSub
team, sponsored by Northrop
Grumman, emerged as the winners
earning the top prize of $6,000.
“These competitions generate
excitement about science,
technology, engineering and
math careers, and a way to
attract future talent,” said Janis
Pamiljans, sector vice president
and unmanned systems general
manager. “Our ability to provide
INSIDE AEROSPACE
ISR and other critical information
across multiple environments, be it
underwater, air or space, is due to
our unique capabilities that ensure
our systems are robust, secure
and trusted.”
Daryl Davidson, director of the
AUVSI Foundation, commended
Northrop Grumman for its role
in the RoboSub event. “Our longstanding partnership with Northrop
Grumman allows us to hold this
annual international educational
opportunity and showcase the
emerging talent in robotics from
around the world.”
— Kaeleena Vardoulakis,
Communications Intern
Production Rate
Increases for F-35
Center Fuselages
On Aug. 11, Northrop Grumman
began producing the center fuselage for BK-10—the 10th F-35B
variant for the United Kingdom—
with a shorter production interval
(PI) that will shave almost a month
and a half off the time needed to
produce the fuselage.
The new three-day PI, down
from the four-day interval that
has been in effect since last
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
Northrop Grumman quality team performs final inspection of AF-97, the 200th F-35
center fuselage produced by the company at its Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center
of Excellence.
August, will enable the company
to produce a center fuselage in
just over 10 months compared to
the approximately 11 1/2 months
needed currently. The production
interval is the average number
of work days between starts or
completions of center fuselage.
“This increase in tempo on our
F-35 Integrated Assembly Line is
part of a coordinated, pre-planned
effort by Northrop Grumman and
its suppliers to help meet rising
F-35 production requirements,”
said Brian Chappel, vice president
and F-35 program manager. “It
also reflects our steady progress
increasing the efficiency of the
production line, and the size and
skills of our workforce.”
— Brooks McKinney
Excelling in Mission
Excellence
Fostering a culture of quality is
essential for Northrop Grumman.
Aerospace Systems has made
significant strides in recognizing
and rewarding those colleagues
who best exemplify mission
excellence.
The culture of quality movement is
gaining traction and has become
personal, with regular quality panel
discussions and special luncheons
honoring award winners.
In July, we hosted the quarterly
Culture of Quality panel discussion
that took place in Palmdale, Calif.
This discussion, moderated by
Quality Engineer Araceli Ortiz,
featured panelists: Art Lofton,
sector vice president, Global
Mission Excellence; Stuart Linsky,
sector vice president, Engineering
and Global Product Development;
Andy Reynolds, vice president,
Global Manufacturing, and
Palmdale site manager; Javier
Meza, F-35 aircraft structures
mechanic and My Quality Counts
Award winner; and Cynthia
Bremerman, quality assurance
specialist, DCMA.
A few weeks later, a luncheon
celebrating this year’s West Coast
winners of the My Quality Counts
and Quality Superstar awards,
was held at the Space Park S Café.
Organizers are planning a similar
East Coast event later this year.
Janet Jones, International Trade
Compliance Analyst for Aerospace
Systems, did the right thing when
she assisted a colleague who was
experiencing a serious health issue
while on business travel.
Because of her attentive actions,
Jones received the engraved
crystal award presented by Darryl
Heath, sector ethics director, and
Corey Moore, vice president, Global
Supply Chain Programs, and Space
Park site manager, at a recent
leadership meeting, along with a
letter from Wes Bush.
“Over the course of my career, I
have never had the pleasure of
working with someone who is so
sincere and genuinely caring for
other people as Janet is,” said a
colleague. “Her compassion for
others and true caring spirit make
her an excellent recipient of this
award.”
Corey Moore congratulates Janet Jones
on receiving the Ethics High Road Award.
Photo by Robert M. Brown
“Quality is what we’re all about,”
says Deb Andree, Quality director
for Military Aircraft Systems. “It’s
great to see the energy around
keeping our commitment to our
customers and our nation.”
All active Northrop Grumman
employees and teams are
eligible for nomination for the
High Road Ethics Award and
may be submitted at any time to
CorpEthicsOffice@ngc.com.
— Tom Henson
— Roz Bliss
7
36
HERITAGE
At daybreak in Palmdale, Calif., the prototype Gulfstream G-V, now configured as a
testbed aircraft, is prepared for an important technology demonstration flight.
Photo by Alan Radecki
GULFSTREAM:
Grumman Legend Keeps Achieving
By Alan Radecki
Next year will mark the 50th
anniversary of the first flight of
a Gulfstream jet. And what an
amazing half century it has been
for this aircraft legend.
Its remarkable history began in
the mid-1950s when Grumman
experienced a downturn in
defense orders. Seeing growth
in the civilian aviation market,
Grumman decided to develop
one of the first aircraft to fill the
emerging corporate aviation niche.
8
36
Its designers initially considered
adapting the U.S. Navy’s C-1 Trader
(the predecessor of the current
Grumman C-2A Greyhound), but
instead settled on a clean-sheet
approach, which became the G-159
Grumman Gulfstream I—a fast,
twin-turboprop corporate transport
which took its maiden flight in
August 1958.
With the arrival of the Jet Age, the
design was reworked with a new
wing that borrowed heavily from
the airfoil design of the Grumman
A-6 Intruder. It included two aft-
mounted Rolls Royce jet engines
and became the twin-jet G-1159
Gulfstream II, or simply G-II. A
phenomenal family of jets soon
followed, which continue to set the
benchmark today.
In the corporate jet world, the
most notable competition at the
time was the Learjet. However, the
main advantage of the Gulfstream
was its stand-up cabin, allowing
passengers to comfortably move
about. In contrast, the Learjet was
like being in a sardine can. The
first G-II flew its maiden flight
on Oct. 2, 1966, and began the
tradition of the Gulfstreams being
identified as the pinnacle of highend luxury executive transport.
Soon, every rock star, basketball
player and Fortune 500 executive
had to have one, and over 250
were built.
With the transition from the G-I
to the G-II, Grumman relocated
its civilian aircraft manufacturing
operation from Bethpage N.Y.,
to Savannah, Ga. In 1978, a year
after the final G-II was delivered,
Grumman sold the operation,
including the preliminary design
work for the follow-on G-III, to
Allen Paulson, who renamed the
company Gulfstream America.
They continued developing the
original Grumman design, and the
G-IV was the first business jet to
feature a glass cockpit. In 1995,
the G-V was the first ultra-long
range corporate jet, and set a
number of distance and speed
records. The type had become so
refined, it was awarded the Robert
J. Collier trophy in 1997.
Gulfstream would eventually be
bought by General Dynamics, and
today they continue to operate
it as their Gulfstream Aerospace
division. Two more Gulfstream
iterations won Collier trophies:
the G550 in 2004 and the G650
in 2014.
Besides serving as corporate
and personal luxury aircraft,
Gulfstreams have served all five
branches of the military. A NASA
G-II was used to train the Space
Shuttle pilots, and was highly
modified so that it could mimic
the steep landing approach that
the shuttles used.
Currently, two Gulfstreams are
flown by Northrop Grumman. A
G-II (serial number 80), which was
INSIDE AEROSPACE
formerly owned by NASCAR great
Jeff Gordon, was modified as a
flight test laboratory. This was
done initially to test the sensor
components for the Navy’s Broad
Area Maritime Surveillance and
later, the MQ-4C Triton. The G-II
continues in service as a testbed
for a host of other programs.
Recently, Northrop Grumman
acquired the prototype G-V, partnering with General Dynamics and
Gulfstream Aerospace, to offer
the Air Force a Gulfstream-based
platform for the Joint STARS
recapitalization program.
With an impressive legacy of
innovation and prestige, it is clear
that this revolutionary Grumman
design will continue to evolve and
set new standards throughout the
aviation industry for years to come.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
9
36
COVER STORY
“Art plays center,” Tierney
explained. “He has to skate hard
to help the forwards get goals. And
then he has to get back to help out
the defense—basically his job is to
help everybody.”
Art delaCruz works on the sector’s
strategic plan and plays ice hockey
recreationally to find work-life balance.
Photos by Alex Evers
delaCruz added, “Supporting one
another and helping your teammates be better is what it’s all
about.”
Teamwork encourages multidisciplinary work where members
cut across organizational divides.
That type of camaraderie transfers
to the workplace, making everyone
more motivated and well-balanced.
QUALITY
IS A TEAM SPORT
Working on the sector’s long-range
plan is a collaborative process.
Input from every organization
across the sector contributes to
the plan, aligning everyone with a
common purpose—the health of
the business. “That type of motivation and collaboration are inherent
in a healthy culture,” said delaCruz.
The Fighters comprise players from
inside and outside the company,
across disciplines from programs
to business to marketing. Fellow
Fighters teammate and sector
creative director Adam Ugolnik
said, “We all rely on each other. Art
backs you up when you struggle
and vice versa. To me, that’s what
being a team is all about.”
Working on a team also increases
accountability. There’s an essential
responsibility to show up for the
team—even when working long
hours to meet tight deadlines or
when a hockey game is late on a
Sunday night.
“You know your team is depending
on you, so you make it priority to
show up,” said Tierney. “We all
try to support each other, share
the burden and be there for each
other.”
As delaCruz demonstrates, from
the air to the conference room to
the ice, there is no compromise
for teamwork and certainly not
for quality. Whether traveling
at Mach 2.5 in a fighter jet or
shooting a hockey puck at 80
miles per hour, there’s no time to
question the quality of an airplane
or the strength of a hockey stick.
Adrenaline rushes, training and
instincts kick in, and you act,
relying on your teammates to
get their jobs done.
Members of the Northrop Grumman
Fighters, a recreational hockey team,
Mike Tierney (left), Art delaCruz (center)
and Adam Ugolnik (right), demonstrate
what it means to back each other up and
support the team.
By Christina Thompson
Teamwork: the process of working
collaboratively with a group of
people to achieve a common goal.
on a Sunday night before hitting
the ice for the Northrop Grumman
Fighters.
Art delaCruz is no stranger to
teamwork. After spending more
than 22 years as a naval officer—
17 of those years flying in F-14 and
F/A-18 fighter jets as a weapons
systems officer, delaCruz now
works on the sector’s long-range
strategic plan as Aerospace
Systems Global Strategy and
Mission Solutions director of
Strategic Planning.
Team captain and James Webb
Space Telescope program
integration manager Mike Tierney
chimed in: “Quality is everybody’s
business, and that means we all
have to back each other up.”
In his spare time, he plays in a
recreational hockey league.
“To me, quality is a team sport,” he
said, while lacing up his skates late
10
36
As a naval aviator, quality infiltrated
every aspect of delaCruz’s life.
While the stakes are nowhere near
as extreme outside of the cockpit,
working effectively as a team is
essential at work and even on
the ice.
“When you’re on a
team, you rely on
people to do their job,”
he said. “It’s the person
who says ‘your jet is
ready to go flying.’ It’s
the person who signs
off on the maintenance.
It’s the person who
checked the oil levels,
and the person who put
together the mission
load. Trust is inherent
in the team—my life
depended on it.”
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
11
36
INGENUITY
THE
NEW BREED
By John Bruner
The innovators at Scaled Composites underscore
how Northrop Grumman is transforming what it
means to be an aerospace company.
The team at Scaled Composites,
a Northrop Grumman strategic
business unit, has an unrivaled
passion for aerospace. When not
designing, building and testing
airplanes at work, they are working
on their own, or building remotecontrol model aircraft at home.
They even dream about airplanes.
Taking calculated risks is how they
are able to achieve what many in
the industry consider impossible.
“I came to Scaled because I wanted
to design, build and test airplanes
as often as I could,” said Elliot
Seguin, a project engineer. “I have
not been able to find a place on
the planet where I can do airplanes
more full time than here.”
The team works in a distant corner
of the Mojave Desert in California
where Chuck Yeager broke the
sound barrier and the space
shuttle landed regularly. That
history reinforces the belief that
anything is possible. The Scaled
team has made its own impressive
history by building aircraft like the
GlobalFlyer, which Steve Fossett
flew around the Earth faster than
anyone else without refueling. And
then there’s SpaceShipOne, the
first commercial spacecraft to put
a human in space.
Scaled embraced these challenges
with a unique hands-on approach
that continues today.
The Proteus airplane in a hangar at
Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif.
12
Photos by Alan Radecki
36
“We expect our
engineers to be able to
build almost anything
they design,” said Kevin
Mickey, president of
Scaled Composites.
“If you were to tour the
shop, you would see
many of our engineers
are out on the floor
working side-by-side
with the technician,
because you don’t solve
problems sitting at your
desk.”
“Scaled projects push cost,
schedule and technology very,
very hard,” said Seguin. “Typically,
we won’t say yes to the program
unless it’s kind of on the edge of
what we can physically do. You
have to make the assumption that
you will come up with a solution
that you’ve never seen before
in order to make that cost and
schedule. That’s the foundation
of ingenuity we rely on.”
It takes a special team to excel in
that environment. “You have to be
passionate about this business
because as soon as you solve one
problem, there’s another challenge
to tackle,” Mickey explained. “And
so we’ve just made it our lifestyle
to know that we are never done.”
The innovators at Scaled are not
intimidated by a blank piece of
paper. “Starting over” is standard
practice. “Our motto is, ‘Question,
never defend’,” says Mickey. “We’re
not afraid to pursue a path and
then quickly deviate to something
else because it looks like a better
solution.” That novel flexibility often
results in new standards against
which other aerospace industry
achievements are measured.
The limitless potential evident at
Scaled Composites can be found
everywhere at Aerospace Systems,
whether it is in the sprawling
F-35 Integrated Assembly Line
in Palmdale, Calif., a design lab in
Melbourne, Fla., the Air Dominance
Center in El Segundo, or a testbed
in San Diego, Calif.
These aerospace trailblazers
are pursuing perfection in the
way they design, build and fly
aircraft. Their “above and beyond”
work ethic helps meet, and often
exceed, our customers’ everevolving requirements. The reward
for taking on these monumental
projects is the opportunity to be
part of some of the most awesome
breakthroughs in aerospace.
INSIDE AEROSPACE
Kevin Mickey, president of
Scaled Composites.
“The fact that my ideas
mean something—
that a small decision I
make will send ripples
through the company—
is the reason I’m here,”
said Seguin. “That
direct connection to
the product gets me
excited.”
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
13
36
ACROSS THE SECTOR
LET THE
GAMES BEG N!
Hundreds of competitors descended on
Dockweiler Beach in Southern California
for a battle to win the 2015 Aerospace
Summer Games.
By Mitch Chavarria
For the last 13 years, aerospace
and related companies in Southern
California have joined together
each summer for a friendly
competition, appropriately named
the Aerospace Summer Games.
For six of those years, Northrop
Grumman has been the champion.
This year, we were so close to
adding our seventh win. The
real victory was the unbeatable
collaboration and off-the-charts
fun.
On Aug. 15, more than
500 Northrop Grumman
employees, family and
friends converged at
Dockweiler Beach in
Playa Del Rey, Calif.
This year’s games were the
largest event led and executed
by volunteers in the South Bay
since the inception of the annual
summer games in 2003.
The day’s competitions ranged
from classics such as volleyball,
relay races and tug-of-war to
this year’s newest games—sand
soccer and ultimate Frisbee.
Activities also included a balloon
toss, a watermelon-eating contest,
dodgeball, executive golf and a
human pyramid.
Aerospace Systems won
first place in Executive Golf.
Photos by Rob Ralls
14
36
Northrop Grumman came in
third place this year, right
behind SpaceX in second place,
and Boeing won the overall
championship—each team
separated by only one point.
The competitiveness of each
participating company’s teams is
increasing every year, as proven
by the close scores. Northrop
Grumman placed first in both
volleyball and executive master’s
golf, and among the top five in the
relay race and sand soccer.
The full-day competition was fierce
and each of the 22 participating
companies gave it their all. It
was a history-making number of
competing companies this year,
and with the largest number of
participants, Northrop Grumman
demonstrated the utmost in team
dedication and support. Everyone
from interns to vice presidents
pulled together and poured on
enthusiasm, skill and tenacity.
The Aerospace Summer Games
are open to all employees from
participating aerospace-related
companies, and generally attract
members of networking and
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
One of Northrop Grumman’s ERGs,
Connect1NG, led the overall
planning and execution of this
year’s games. The games provide
a unique opportunity where
INSIDE AEROSPACE
employees of all disciplines and
levels from various companies
compete toward a common goal.
“The Aerospace Summer Games
was a great opportunity to participate with co-workers, customers
and competitors in a fun and
positive environment,” said
Dean Hilgenberg, director,
manufacturing, engineering
and tooling.
“It was the perfect
setting to engage
with others outside
the workplace.”
As the 2015 champions, Boeing will
organize the 2016 Summer Games,
but #TeamNorthropGrumman will
be back in full force, determined
to reclaim the trophy for a seventh
year!
To help or participate on
#TeamNorthropGrumman at
next year’s games, contact
Connect1NG@ngc.com.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
15
36
ACROSS THE SECTOR
“What we do proves we
are the best engineering
organization in the world.”
– Stuart Linsky, sector vice president,
Engineering and Global Product
Development (E&GPD)
Three months into his new role
heading Northrop Grumman’s
largest functional organization,
Stuart Linsky gives us the scoop
on E&GPD’s culture for growth
and performance.
IA: What do you mean by “culture
for growth and performance”?
SL: In the past five years, our
company has risen as the top
performer in our industry. To
leverage that, we need to grow,
protect our missions and take
on new ones. A “Systems Think”
mindset is needed throughout the
organization, along with first-pass
success quality and accountability.
We must continue to develop
and deliver on the most creative
solutions and affordability. When
we fully embody this culture, we
will capture new missions and
deliver differentiated performance.
IA: As leader of the sector’s more
than 10,000 engineers, how do
you drive new initiatives across
an organization of this size?
6
TALKING ENGINEERING:
QUESTIONS
16
36
WITH
STUART LINSKY
SL: Our leadership team is actively
refining our vision and strategy.
Some new initiatives will be started
and some existing initiatives will
be expanded. We have a clear path
forward and a leadership team that
is committed to making it happen.
We have brilliant people across
our organization and tremendous
opportunities. Our challenge will
be to provide clear communication
of this strategic path so everyone
pulls in the same direction. Our
potential is greater than we’ve had
in more than a decade and we are
well positioned for growth capture.
By Bonnie Poindexter
IA: Your predecessor, Peggy
Nelson, was very involved in
helping women to advance their
engineering careers, as well as
advocating for STEM alliances
between business, academia
and government. What are your
passions?
SL: Like Peggy, I believe we must
have diverse thought to match
the dynamic challenges the world
presents. You can expect me to
passionately drive for diversity and
inclusion in both our technical and
management career paths.
Like my fellow engineers, I too
have great passion for innovative
technologies, designs and
methods. Having the honor to lead
the team that’s literally creating the
future of aerospace is absolutely
thrilling to me.
I can only hope to leave a legacy as
meaningful as Peggy’s.
IA: As the author of close to 30
U.S. patents, it sounds like your
legacy is well underway. Can you
tell us about your career path?
SL: I joined the company more than
30 years ago right out of school.
The company helped me earn
graduate degrees while I gained
experience. I stayed technical
as long as I could, then I tried
management. The challenge was
exciting. I found that I enjoyed
leading technical teams to develop
the world’s most advanced satellite
systems. I became a program lead
systems engineer, then a chief
engineer, then program manager.
When TRW merged with Northrop
Grumman, I volunteered on teams
formed to synergize and optimize
the corporation.
I’m very fortunate to have had
great mentors who helped guide
my career progression. I cannot
emphasize enough the value of
sharing knowledge – it’s critical
for business growth and employee
development. At any level in one’s
career there’s always an opportunity
to pay it forward. It’s tremendously
rewarding to assist young engineers
in identifying their strengths and
their preferred career paths. Seeing
that spark never gets old.
IA: So what does the future of
AS Engineering look like going
forward?
SL: Our future is bright. The new
programs that we’re competing for
are well within our reach. There is
so much new development work
that our challenge will be growing
our engineering ranks in a way that
doesn’t allow balls to be dropped.
Our opportunities in Aerospace
Systems are what get me out of bed
every morning. To operate in such a
highly competitive marketplace and
to have the potential for growth in
so many areas really speaks to the
caliber of our engineers.
IA: Work-life balance – any advice?
SL: Judgment. Know when you don’t
need to push so hard and spend that
time with your family and friends;
and know when a sacrifice is in order.
Your teammates have to know they
can count on you when the chips
are down; but in normal times, have
a normal life. Above all, always act
with the utmost integrity on or off
the field; it reflects on you, your
teammates and the company.
Pictured in front of E&GPD’s new themed mural created by photographer
Brandon Balasbas, Stuart Linsky is leading the sector’s team, engineering
game-changing solutions in a dynamic world.
Photo by Alex Evers
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
17
36
DROUGHT
BUSTERS
ACROSS THE SECTOR
One example of drought-tolerant plants at
Space Park in Redondo Beach, Calif.
Photo by Alex Evers
By Chris Boyd
Rivers and lakes at historically low levels;
residents opting for rock gardens or turf instead
of lawns … signs of one of the worst droughts on
record are everywhere in California.
With many of Aerospace Systems’
most water-intensive operations
located in the Golden State, from
San Diego to Redondo Beach to
Palmdale, water conservation
is at the forefront of Northrop
Grumman’s greeNG program.
The greeNG program represents the company’s significant
environmental commitment, with
robust plans for reducing water
use, greenhouse gas emissions
and solid waste. The maturity
of these programs enabled the
company to react quickly when
California Gov. Jerry Brown
issued an executive order to cut
water usage across the state by
25 percent. CEO Wes Bush connected with
Aerospace Systems leadership
just days after the order and,
based on extensive analysis
of our sites, determined to
accelerate our investment plans
and water reduction efforts. This
led to Sector Vice President of
Operations Tommy Tomlinson
18
36
authorizing $2.5 million for waterreduction measures this year in
support of the governor’s executive
order and our company’s goals.
by 2020, corporate greeNG chartered an Enterprise Water Council
comprised of water experts from
each sector.
“Though the order doesn’t specifically call out companies, Northrop
Grumman is taking it seriously
and is being proactive,” said
Katie Hamic, Aerospace Systems
Sustainability/greeNG lead.
Corporate greeNG is also sponsoring water use assessments across
the company with an initial focus
on California sites. Space Park was
the first to pilot the assessment
in November 2014, and Palmdale
followed in May 2015.
“Water conservation isn’t new to
Aerospace Systems,” said Lisa
Chynoweth, Aerospace Systems
Sustainability/greeNG manager.
“We have been implementing best
management practices to conserve
water for many years now, such
as installing low-flow faucets and
toilets, but with such extreme
drought conditions, our efforts
have to be much more aggressive,
and we need to look systematically
at opportunities in manufacturing
processes, building systems and
alternative water sources.”
To bring a One Northrop Grumman
approach to the company’s water
conservation goal of 20 percent
INSIDE AEROSPACE
The Space Park assessment
found that the cooling towers
(used to cool buildings) and
reverse-osmosis systems (used
in manufacturing processes)
are consuming the most water.
Plans are in place to upgrade
the reverse-osmosis systems to
increase efficiency and expedite
installation of new water-saving
technologies in the cooling
towers by the end of the year.
Conservation measures at Space
Park alone will save more than 70
million gallons annually.
Space Park’s landscape watering
schedule has been reduced by
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
60 percent, saving more than
5 million gallons each year. The
large grassy area of Space Park
has turned brown as a result.
The sector is currently exploring
the option of using reclaimed,
or recycled, water for irrigation
to meet stringent local water
restrictions.
The Palmdale assessment
identified the site’s evaporative
cooling units used to cool down
the buildings as a major water
user. Conservation efforts will
focus on upgrading the units
to achieve a 49-million-gallonper-year water reduction.
Though Palmdale relies on
well water—such locations are
excluded from the governor’s
mandate—company officials
want to increase efficiencies
and conserve water wherever
possible.
Plans are still in the works for an
assessment at the El Segundo
site. The San Diego site consists
primarily of office buildings,
so efforts there focus on
employee use.
The Information Systems and
Electronic Systems sectors
are also taking steps to reduce
California water use. According
to Walter Gehlmann, greeNG
lead for Information Systems,
the sector’s Rancho Carmel
(San Diego) site has drastically
reduced landscaping irrigation,
resulting in a 25 percent cut
in water use. The sector has
also deactivated an outdoor
water display at its Sacramento
facility.
Electronic Systems will complete water assessments at its
major California campuses in
Azusa, Sunnyvale and Woodland
Hills by October, according to
Mike Ensor, Electronic Systems
greeNG lead.
“We are evaluating landscaping
renovation opportunities where
climate-appropriate plants and
xeriscaping will be used,” Ensor
said.
WHAT
CAN YOU DO TO
SAVE WATER?
Individuals also can have an impact
on saving resources. Aerospace
Systems Sustainability/greeNG
Manager Lisa Chynoweth recommends the following two key steps:
/ Be aware of the water you’re
using. Turn off water if you don’t
need it or aren’t using it, e.g.,
don’t leave the water running
while brushing your teeth or
doing the dishes: turn it on only
to rinse.
/ In your work area, identify
steps to reduce water usage
and bring them to greeNG’s
attention by contacting
greeNG.AerospaceSystems@ngc.com.
19
36
ACROSS THE SECTOR
Inside the Environmental Test Lab, two
future engineers experiment with a ball
filled with liquid nitrogen. As the liquid
nitrogen evaporates, the gas escapes
out of a hole in the ball, causing it to spin.
Photos by Alex Evers
folding. Kids also designed and
raced derby cars in the Pinewood
Derby.
“It was an inspiring
event. The amount
of pride and hard
work that went into
organizing a showcase
of this magnitude was
incredible. Our families
got a small glimpse of
what we do and had lot
of fun,” said Moore. “I
am very proud of all the
volunteers who made
this possible.”
SO THIS IS WHERE YOU
WORK
By Michelle Meyer
When you see a 17-foottall mechanical giraffe
walking toward you and
paper rockets soaring
into the air, you know
something different and
special is happening.
That was definitely the case in
June when more than 700 middle
school and high school-age
students visited Space Park in
Redondo Beach, Calif., for Take Our
Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
20
36
The event, organized and hosted
by the employee resource group
WiNGs-LA, was supported by
nearly 200 employee volunteers
and program leads who helped
guide the fun-filled day’s science,
technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) tours, presentations and
hands-on activities.
Corey Moore, vice president of
Global Supply Chain and Space
Park site manager, opened the
event with a video and stories
of the incredible work done by
family employees every day. He
challenged our young guests—
accompanied by their family
INSIDE AEROSPACE
members—to see, explore, and
ask questions.
On the agenda were tours of
program areas for the James
Webb Space Telescope, Advanced
Extremely High Frequency
satellites, the F-35 aircraft and
FabLab, complete with up-close
presentations and hands-on
demonstrations.
The Hands-On Engineering Fair
held after lunch tested our young
guests’ engineering and innovation
skills in big and small ways, from
athletics with the LA Galaxy soccer
team trainers to practicing origami
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
In the Innovation Construction
Zone, kids went back to engineering basics by building and creating
with commonly available items:
cardboard boxes, cables, wheels,
tarps and tubes, plastic clips, and
of course, safety goggles. More
than 20 activity booths kept kids
and parents engaged.
An electronic giraffe greets visitors
to Space Park.
A young boy
performs a successful
paper rocket launch.
This year, a new team activity
brought home the magic of what
we do: Aerodynamics in Action.
Participants constructed and
launched paper rockets and watched them soar into the air. Following
the event, probably more than
one Space Park employee was left
wondering, “How did a paper rocket
get on the roof?”
21
36
ACROSS THE SECTOR
BEST OF THE
BEST:
TAKING HOME TOP HONORS ARE ...
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: E-2/C-2 Transition to Manned Aircraft
Design Center of Excellence
Recipients: Robert Armenti, Vito Fagiolino,
Christine Galati, Ivan Jackson, Donna Krebs,
Mark Soley
Busting Bureaucracy — Our Heritage,
Our Future
2015 PRESIDENT’S AWARD HONOREES
Recipients: Billie Finn, Tom Henson, Danny Lieu,
Sandy McElroy, Dane Rasmussen, Bill Uphoff
By Chris Boyd
PROGRAM EXCELLENCE: AP-610 Program Team
Employees gathered from throughout the sector for a special evening
Friday, Aug. 21, at the Los Angeles
International Airport Marriott,
where sector President Tom Vice
and his executive leadership
team recognized individuals who
demonstrated the ultimate in
LIMITLESS ingenuity.
Nine teams captured the 2015
President’s Award, which recognizes exceptional performance
in one of four categories: Operational Excellence, Program
Excellence, Customer Excellence
and Innovation-for-Affordability
Excellence.
This year’s honorees “are transforming Northrop Grumman,
reshaping the aerospace industry
and changing our understanding of
the world around us,” Vice stated.
“The President’s Award recognizes
amazing team members achieving
truly remarkable things. You,
our awardees, are courageous,
passionate and ingenious. You are
risk takers, visionaries. You are
infected with a non-stop, can-do
spirit. Simply stated, you are an
extraordinary group with every
intention of changing everything.
“In some cases,” Vice continued,
“the world for decades to come will
22
36
not even know, or can know, the
ingenious breakthroughs you have
achieved. But in all cases, you are
changing the very fabric of our
company—you have reached
up and grabbed a hold of an exciting future and pulled it ever so
close. You are transforming our
company, reshaping our industry
and changing our understanding
of our world.
“There were so many outstanding achievements in 2014. I
am very proud of the incredible
innovation and performance
demonstrated by all the
nominated teams; the caliber
of the accomplish-ments was
truly inspiring,” Vice said. “While
every nomination personifies the
pioneering spirit of ingenuity at
Aerospace Systems and deserves
our recognition, there were a select
few that represented the best of
the best.”
“The people who work for Northrop
Grumman are brilliant, bold and
creative. And through their vision
and actions, the honorees … have
shown us what remarkable results
can be had when we lean forward
and take a chance to make a
difference,” said Heidi Hendrix,
sector vice president of Human
Resources.
“Simply put, those whom we
honor are dedicated to making
the world a better place through
their imaginative ideas and bold
innovation. Our honorees are
leaders, and through the work they
do, they teach us and inspire us
to break new ground and break
through barriers.”
Recipients: Mark Burns, Robbie Gerhart, Ardis Laine,
Carl Meade, Christopher Moss, Gary Tiebens
Strategic Systems Program Team
Recipients: Jim Devore, Mike Peters, Richard Rose,
Jeff Sokol, Jon Stinson, Barry Strattan
CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE: Advanced Extremely High Frequency SV4 Early
Payload Delivery
In addition to honoring the present,
the August event recognized a face
from Aerospace Systems’ not-sodistant past.
Former Northrop Grumman employee Scott J. Seymour, who
was corporate vice president and
president of the former Integrated
Systems (now Aerospace Systems), was recognized with the
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Seymour led the development,
production and delivery of the B-2
stealth bomber.
“Throughout his career, he had
an incredible vision of the future,
an unrelenting passion for our
customers and the deepest
loyalty for his team,” Vice said
before presenting Seymour with
the honor. “He has been the most
inspiring, motivating, demanding,
the most authentic and caring
leader I believe our industry has
ever seen. He set the standard for
bold and courageous leadership.”
Recipients: Greg Dell, Kevin Flanigan, Daniel Franzen,
Steve Mishima, Charles “Geoff” Turner, Frederick Walker
Providing Solutions for Our Allies
Recipients: Michael Albright, Dave Buttram, Steve Carnesi,
Pake Chin, Brian Connors, Kathryn Cowen, Drew Flood,
Pat Morris, Jack Pritchett, Fred Shelton, Gregory Thomas,
Rick Weir
INNOVATION-FOR-AFFORDABILITY Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab)
EXCELLENCE: Recipients: Debbie Bales, Cindy Kohlmiller, Tony Long, Russ Naranjo,
Kaha Sariashvili, Michael Wheaton
Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration
Recipients: Augusto Gutierrez-Aitken, Nancy Lin, Cedric Monier,
Ben Poust, Ken Sato, Dennis Scott
GPS Payload Innovation Conceptualization and Demonstration
Recipients: Doug Cockfield, Cyrus Dhalla, Ed Koretzky, Daniel Liu,
Marlon Marquez, Anand Shah
Tom Vice addressing the award winners
at the 2015 President’s Awards.
Photo by Robert M. Brown
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
23
36
HOMEFRONT
ON A
WING
AND A PRAYER
By Chris Boyd
Systems Facilities specialist
Ismael (Mike) Deanda, released
the peregrine from E2’s ninth
floor. It flew east until reuniting
with its parents. “The release went
beautifully,” West said.
Once an endangered species, the
peregrine falcon returned from
the brink, and the sleekly shaped
raptor that can dive at speeds
up to 200 mph has inspired
aerospace engineers in their
design of a more perfect warbird.
24
Karin West, a volunteer with South Bay Wildlife Rehab,
prepares to release a recently rehabilitated peregrine falcon
from the ninth floor of the E2 Building at Aerospace Systems’
Redondo Beach, Calif., facility.
A pair of nesting peregrines, a
bird of prey, has made its home
atop the 11-story E2 Building at
Aerospace Systems’ Space Park
facility in Redondo Beach, Calif.,
for months now. Peregrine falcons
favor cliff nests in the wild, but
they’ve adapted well to high-rise
buildings like E2 that mimic cliffs.
Current drought conditions have
led to fewer birds in the area, and
hence fewer meals for the pair that
subsist mainly on small to mediumsized birds like pigeons and ducks.
Still, the peregrines managed to
have at least one fledgling this past
spring. Like young birds sometimes
do, the 2-month-old fledgling got
a little too adventurous while it
was learning to fly in late June
and injured itself falling off a
ledge, likely bruising a leg or two
—nothing was broken. Animal
Control officers picked up the bird,
which was limping around the E2
parking lot, and later sent it to
an organization called South Bay
Wildlife Rehab (SBWR).
“It just feels really good
to let the birds fly free.
We’ve released some
that even we thought
didn’t have a chance.”
SBWR relies on 60 to 70 volunteers
to work with up to 1,400 birds per
year, and the organization is always
looking for additional assistance.
Visit www.sbwr.org for more
information, check it out on
Facebook or call (310) 378-9921.
At SBWR, the bird learned to fly and
hunt, and it gained some needed
weight. Then on Wednesday,
July 29, SBWR volunteer Karin
West, accompanied by Aerospace
Photo by Alex Evers
36
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
25
36
EMPLOYEE
APPRECIATION DAY
Acknowledging the contributions Northrop
Grumman employees make at work and in
the community throughout the year, thousands of employees are being recognized
at sites across the sector during their
respective “Employee Appreciation Day.”
COMMUNITY
SPECIAL
OLYMPICS
WORLD GAMES
Los Angeles, Calif.
By Bonnie Poindexter
The Space Park celebration took place
Sept. 2, and upcoming AS events are
scheduled for:
/ St. Augustine, Fla. Nov. 12
/ Bethpage, N.Y. Nov. 16
/ Melbourne, Fla. Nov. 19
/ Palmdale, Calif. Dec. 9
At the end of this year’s Special
Olympics World Games in L.A.,
athletes received exuberant applause
during the medal presentation.
Photo by Belanna Zamudio
IT ALL ADDS UP
Melbourne, Fla.
By Sarah Bishop
Communications Intern
More than 100 Northrop
Grumman employees along
with their families cheered in
support of Team USA’s gold
medal performance at the
Special Olympics World Volleyball games held this summer at
the University of California,
Los Angeles.
Northrop Grumman supported
the Special Olympics through
the organization’s Fans in
Stands volunteer program
where corporate and community
champions establish dedicated
teams to attend specific World
Games events and bolster
enthusiasm for the athletes.
of presenting medals to the athletes
at these games.
“Seeing the incredible excitement
and pride on the face of every athlete
was truly inspiring,” said Erikson. “I
think we all felt tremendous pride
in attending the Special Olympics
as colleagues supporting the
worldwide humanitarian program.
The opportunity to personally
congratulate the athletes and
present their medals was a real
honor.”
Carol Erikson, vice president of
Engineering for Space Systems
and Research and Technology,
along with Art Lofton, sector
vice president of Global
Mission Excellence, and Keith
Burton, community relations
representative, had the honor
In just two weeks this summer,
130 Northrop Grumman interns
at the Melbourne, Fla., site raised
more than $2,000 for school
supplies to benefit teachers and
students in Brevard County public
schools.
both recently hired by Northrop
Grumman. The proceeds benefitted
Brevard Schools Foundation’s
Supply Zone for Teachers, a
resource center that provides free
school supplies for those who need
them most.
Through the 10-day fundraiser
called The Penny Project, interns
staffed lobbies and the cafeteria
for nearly two hours each day.
Armed with collection buckets,
they encouraged employees to
contribute pennies and other
loose change. Employee teams
posted a daily tally of donations
in the cafeteria to keep the
momentum going.
At the end of the campaign, several
interns attended the Supply Zone’s
annual “Back-to-School Giveaway.”
With almost 2,000 families in
attendance, each child received a
bag filled with school supplies for
the year and a new backpack.
The campaign was led by
postgraduate interns Elizabeth
Hopkins and Ryan Haughey,
“Seeing how much has been raised
for the community shows just how
far pennies can take you,” said
Hopkins.
Photo by Alex Evers
26
36
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
27
36
VENUS
CALLING
By Sally Koris
Venus is the femme fatale of planets:
mysterious and seductive but deadly, with
a hot and hostile surface, and shrouded
in a thick layer of clouds that make
understanding the planet difficult.
PERFORMANCE
Few missions have gone to
Venus in recent years beyond
the recently concluded European
Venus Express, NASA’s Mariner
flybys, Pioneer Venus, Magellan
radar mapping mission and a
series of short-lived Russian
probes launched from 1960
through the early 1980s.
The planet is a near twin to
Earth, but scientists have limited
understanding of its differences
despite these previous missions.
So Northrop Grumman has come
up with a unique concept to
explore Venus’ atmosphere and
understand its evolutionary path,
perhaps also shedding light on
Earth’s planetary and climate
evolution.
Called the Venus Atmospheric
Maneuverable Platform, or
VAMP, the concept draws on the
company’s extensive experience
in aircraft and autonomous air
vehicles, science and other space
missions, large deployables and
entry systems to create a highly
maneuverable air vehicle.
A delta-wing shaped inflatable
air vehicle that bears a strong
resemblance to the Flying Wing,
the B-2 Spirit and X-47B, VAMP
is designed to be transported to
Venus on a spacecraft, where it
will be inflated and deployed into
the Venusian atmosphere. Using
solar-powered propellers, VAMP
will cruise through the atmosphere
some 32 to 42 miles above the
surface, gathering data on the
clouds and atmosphere for about
a year’s time.
“We’ve developed a new approach
to explore Venus that relies on
proven technologies and could
be fielded in just a few years,”
said Greg Lee, VAMP/LEAF
program manager. “The beauty
of the concept is that it supports
something that hasn’t been done
before. And that’s a long-duration
mission with an air vehicle that is
maneuverable in longitude, latitude
and altitude.”
VAMP is the first application of
the Lifting Entry Atmospheric
Flight (LEAF) System family of
systems, which has taken shape
with the contributions of Lee,
Ron Polidan, Daniel Sokol, Floyd
Ross and others. LEAF vehicles
are designed to be atmospheric
rovers and explore the atmosphere
of Mars, Titan or even Earth.
Venus was selected for the first
mission because it has a dense
atmosphere not too different than
the Earth’s at the altitude where it
would operate.
To help shape the mission, the
team formed a Science Advisory
Board. The board will help
define specific science goals,
measurement requirements, and
identify possible instruments for
future VAMP missions. It will also
serve as a science analysis group
to mine existing data about Venus
that may be useful to the VAMP
mission.
The team has also developed and
fabricated several engineering
models that have been used for
design validation testing. In June,
a team successfully glide-tested
remote controlled electronics.
Other tests are planned for this
autumn, including propulsion
flight tests, arc jet and Venus
atmospheric exposure chamber
tests, and a deployment concept
demonstration to validate our
packaging and deployment
concept.
“We’re going to keep on
developing this mission,
with an eye to maturing
it enough to bid for
future NASA missions,”
said Lee. “And we’re
going to have a lot of
fun doing it too.”
Artist’s concept of VAMP shown
flying through the thick clouds
surrounding Venus
28
36
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
29
36
PERFORMANCE
The Space Tracking and Surveillance System
(STSS) started as just a ballistic missile
tracking and surveillance demonstration.
THE HIGH-Q OF
STSS
By AnnaMaria White
Six years later, STSS is still
flying—more than four years past
its mission life—and doing much
more.
When first launched on Sept. 25,
2009, the two STSS demonstration
satellites were intended to
prove the value of space assets
for missile defense. But once
operational, that value became
quickly apparent.
“From the high ground of space,
we can spot and track a missile
from birth to death, which was
something that had never been
done before,” said Gabe Watson,
vice president of GEOINT, Sensing
and Science.
The STSS demonstration system
features two tandem infrared
satellites, situated in Low Earth
Orbit. Each satellite is equipped
with a wide-view acquisition sensor
and a narrow-view tracking sensor,
which combine to enable STSS
to locate and track missiles in all
phases of flight, determine the
missile trajectory and collect data.
The spacecraft’s signal and
data processor boasts a high
data per second rate, and can
simultaneously detect and track
multiple objects in real time,
telling ground and ship-based
interceptors where to engage
enemy missiles.
With its impressive technologies,
STSS achieved its original mission
objectives five months ahead of
schedule. And since it was still
operating, the Missile Defense
Agency (MDA) and the Northrop
30
36
Grumman team started getting
creative to expand the satellites’
sensor capabilities.
Projects, selected for its innovative concepts, technologies and
process enhancements.
“The MDA asked us if STSS could
perform additional tasks, such
as space domain awareness and
Earth observations. We accepted
the challenge and found a way
to incorporate multiple tasks
without interfering with the primary
mission of missile defense,”
said Chris Stroud, STSS payload
specialist. “When you are able to
track dim missiles from space,
you have an inherent capability
to perform several other defense
missions.”
“Working with the MDA has
been very rewarding, and they
have helped us transform these
research and development
satellites into a quasi-operational
system with expanded national
defense capabilities,” said Watson.
Collaborating with the MDA and
responding to their expanding
interests, the STSS team increased
the satellites’ activity six-fold
from 2011 to 2014 and doubled
on-orbit operational time. The
majority of this new activity was
non-missile-related and included
space situational awareness,
technical intelligence, battlefield
assessment, civil disaster support,
and environmental monitoring.
“The STSS team
regularly delivers
quality above and
beyond what anyone
thought possible and
has proven the value
of space beyond any
doubt.”
Jeff Namart also contributed to
this article.
“We recognized the value of a
multi-band infrared sensor and
expanded our collections from
just missile defense to supporting
multiple areas of national defense,”
added Stroud.
The STSS program and team
have been recognized by the MDA
multiple times, including the 2011
Pinnacle Award for exceptional
performance, the agency’s highest
honor. The program also won
the 2013 Aviation Week Program
Excellence Award for Special
INSIDE AEROSPACE
The second of two Space Tracking
and Surveillance System satellites
leaves a thermal vacuum testing
chamber at Northrop Grumman in
Redondo Beach, Calif., in 2007.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
31
36
A
PERFORMANCE
FOEPA
THAT’S NOT
By Tom Henson
This is a story of outstanding quality, smart
innovation and true collaboration—all in two
small packages.
In an ever-evolving effort to drive
mission excellence, a crossfunctional Aerospace Systems
team has invented and developed
a system called FOEPA (Foreign
Object Escape Prevention
Assistant), which helps inspectors find foreign objects (FO)
before shipsets leave Northrop
Grumman’s manufacturing lines.
“FOEPA is the ingenious product
of a team of engineers confronting
an ongoing challenge to improve
quality,” said Northrop Grumman
Fellow Steve Engel.
Designed to replace conventional
flashlight-and-mirror or borescope
inspection tools, the FOEPA
system helps inspectors see
32
36
into areas that, until now, have
been difficult to access. What’s
more, FOEPA notifies inspectors
of anomalies such as tape and
fasteners based on what the
system has “learned” a FO-free
surface should look like.
FOEPA is an ongoing, successful
homegrown collaboration between
Research, Technology and
Advanced Design, Global Mission
Excellence, Engineering and Global
Product Development, Global
Operations and AOA Xinetics,
a Northrop Grumman strategic
business unit specializing in
advanced optical systems.
“We saw a clear need to give our
inspectors a tool that could help
them do their great work even
better,” says Scott Shaffar, director
of Global Mission Excellence for
Unmanned Systems.
“Working together
across functions and
disciplines enabled
us to come up with
something no one ever
had conceived before.
And it’s making a
difference right now.”
FOEPA comes in two sizes. The
larger system uses a laptop
computer and a borescope,
Tyecha Williams and Luke McCord show off FOEPA.
Photo by Daniel Perales
The system is employed on two
aircraft programs, and 15 units
are planned for distribution in
2016. It’s principal investigator
John Crawford’s job to oversee
FOEPA’s use.
while the handheld machine
replaces the borescope with a
flashlight-sized element. Aside
from the operators, the real key
to both systems is the software,
completely developed by Northrop
Grumman. As FOEPA has matured,
the software has become smarter
and more robust, helping improve
its already stellar performance.
“We created FOEPA with a purpose
in mind, but as we’ve incorporated
the lessons we’ve learned, it’s
become even more valuable,” says
software engineer Bob Christ,
who helped create the system.
“FOEPA now can recognize and
call attention to anomalies worth
examining.”
“Operators find the system easy
to use, and, given the important
information they’re getting, it’s
clear FOEPA will continue to be
an innovation that drives quality
wherever it’s used,” says Crawford.
“I think the system’s power comes
from the way it constantly uses
operator feedback to keep learning
and improving.”
Next year promises great things
for FOEPA beyond a rollout to
multiple sector locations. A patent
INSIDE AEROSPACE
is pending, which may be granted
in 2016, and AOA Xinetics is leading
plans to begin selling the system to
outside interests.
“It’s easy to focus on just how
an innovation can positively
impact what we do, but FOEPA
has applications well beyond
aerospace,” says engineering
fellow John Madsen. “Think of
the ways this system can make a
difference in areas like healthcare,
law enforcement and the food
industry—anywhere it’s important
to see beyond what technology has
allowed until now. That may be the
lasting legacy of this system—that
it will help in ways we can’t even
imagine today.”
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
33
36
PERFORMANCE
PUTTING
QUALITY TO
THE TEST
By AnnaMaria White
Since its founding in 1958, Astro Aerospace,
a Northrop Grumman strategic business
unit, has maintained a 100 percent
on-orbit success record.
“We have hardware on Mars,
orbiting Earth and the moon, and
even leaving the solar system on
Voyager I,” said John A. Alvarez,
general manager. With thousands
of pieces of space hardware and
deployables, how do you keep that
record going?
For starters, Astro relies on its
deep toolset of proven hardware
and equipment. “We’ve been
doing this for so long, we have
tools and techniques that we
know will work,” added Leonard
Karpenko, one of the company’s
quality engineers. Astro’s proven
design approach relies on very
precise analysis on the motion
of the system of bodies, called
kinematics.
For example, Astro Aerospace
recently built a spinning reflector
and boom. “No one has ever tried
to spin such a large reflector
before,” said Karpenko. Since the
rotation could not be tested in
gravity, the Astro Aerospace team
invented new methods to achieve
the extremely precise mass
measurements they needed
to ensure the reflector would
spin correctly in space.
These techniques allowed
Astro’s engineers to keep
the reflector and boom
mass to within a 3.5-ounce
window (equal to about 39
pennies) and the center
of mass within a half-inch
(1.3-centimeter) window.
But most importantly, all of
these good ideas have to pass
Astro’s extensive testing. “We
test every piece multiple times,”
added Alvarez. “Some things you
can’t test accurately in gravity,
so we have to carefully model
what we can’t test. That can
take a lot of time, the investment
is well worth it to maintain our
successful heritage.”
THE VALUE OF
AN ENTIRE COMPANY
BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES
OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE.
With their combination of
expertise, precision and testing,
the Astro team plans to keep
their 100 percent success
streak going.
NASA’s Soil Moisture Active
Passive satellite
Photo courtesy of NASA JPL
34
36
INSIDE AEROSPACE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
© 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation
G LO B A L H AW K
THE VALUE OF
ONE SYSTEM DOING THE JOB OF MANY.
To tackle the U.S. Air Force’s increasing need for persistent high-altitude ISR information,
Northrop Grumman developed a Universal Payload Adapter (UPA) for all Global Hawks. To support
more diverse missions, Global Hawks can be equipped with a wider range of legacy and next-generation
sensors. The Global Hawk can also fly 30+ hour missions at an incredibly efficient cost per flight hour.
That’s why we’re a leader in innovative Unmanned Systems.
© 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation
w w w. n o r t h r o p g r u m m a n . c o m /g l o b a l h a w k