Northrop Grumman Corporation opened its Maryland Space Assembly and Test (MSAT) 2 facility at the company’s Baltimore campus. The 55,000-square-foot facility provides a digitally integrated manufacturing, assembly, and test hub to support customer needs and the company’s growing space payload and ground systems capabilities.

MSAT2 adds a progressive assembly line and unique testing capabilities to the integrated Maryland Space Assembly and Test complex. A central feature is a state-of-the-art thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC).

The TVAC simulates the harsh thermal conditions of space, allowing engineers to subject space payloads to extreme temperature variations and ensure uninterrupted performance. The facility also includes advanced, digitally driven robotic manufacturing with environmentally controlled 10K and 100K class clean rooms.

“Our continued investment in Maryland helps meet our customer needs while strengthening our commitments to this community and our workforce,” said Scott Lee, vice president, and general manager, payload and ground systems, Northrop Grumman. “The new digitally integrated MSAT2 grows our advanced manufacturing, assembly, and test capabilities as we continue to deliver end-to-end space solutions with speed and agility.”

“We’re at the forefront of developing innovative technologies across our diverse and connected business from undersea to outer space and cyberspace,” said Roshan Roeder, vice president, and general manager, of airborne multifunction sensors, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “We continue to grow and expand our workforce including digital and software engineers, technicians, and related fields.”

This new facility expands the company's presence at the more than one million square foot campus. Across Maryland, Northrop Grumman has a broad portfolio of technologies from sensors that detect, identify and track threats across the electromagnetic spectrum to technology leadership in networking systems, microelectronics, cyber and artificial intelligence capabilities. At the Baltimore campus, the company also conducts flight tests with its fleet of test aircraft and provides a digital engineering simulation capability of aircraft in development.

Northrop Grumman has a long history in Maryland, with more than 13,000 employees across the state, more than 1,600 who are veterans, and partnerships with nearly 2,000 local suppliers as well as colleges, universities, and community organizations.

Northrop Grumman is a technology company, focused on global security and human discovery. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect, advance, and protect the U.S. and its allies. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 90,000 employees define possible every day.

Click here to learn about Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) testing.