Posted on 04/18/2025 5:40:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
An explosion on Wednesday destroyed a building at Northrop Grumman’s rocket testing complex in northern Utah.
According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, Northrop Grumman’s Innovation Systems plant in Promontory, Utah, is where the company manufacturers “solid rocket motors for government and commercial customers.”
WATCH:
MULTIPLE VIDEOS AT LINK.................
Per Air & Space Forces Magazine:
There was no immediate report of casualties, which occurred at 7:35 am local time. Local officials said they are investigating the accident.
Northrop officials say the accident will not delay any of its programs. The Air Force referred inquiries to Northrop.
A Northrop spokesman would not characterize the function of the building, and whether it was involved in production of solid rocket motors, or SRMs. Industry sources later told Air & Space Forces Magazine the building was used in part to store materials used to make solid rocket motors.
Northrop’s Innovation Systems—formerly Orbital ATK—accounts for nearly 90 percent of the SRM capacity in the U.S., a capability that supports Air Force, NASA, and commercial space launch activities.
A local television station flew a helicopter over the building, showing no active fire but major wreckage.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday he was told “there’s no danger to the public.”
From KSL News:
An explosion rocked the Northrop Grumman rocket testing facility in remote Promontory, around 32 miles west of Brigham City.
Reports of the explosion came in around 7:38 AM, according to the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office.
Palmer said the building is a total loss and was on fire Wednesday morning, but no injuries were reported, said Box Elder County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Cade Palmer. Crews were dispatched to the location, where more information will be gathered.
The location, part of the “Rocket Ranch,” has been a testing ground for solid rocket motors in recent years, according to the company. Northrop Grumman has been expanding motor production, constructing new buildings and modifying old ones to scale up by 2030, a past press release says.
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To hell with SAFETY, we got to get those weapons to Ukraine to fight the Ruzzians!!!!
(I’ll give DEI a pass on this one as it’s likely that defense plants are no longer under DEI orders, due to the higher priority of the war against Ruzzia)
This is no small explosion. Sabotage or incompetence? Either way it’s a bad thing.
It’s going to be an interesting summer....
Nothing to see here. Please move along.
Nothing, except a pile scrap metal..........
WOW
Oh please, look how many times Spacex has crashed and burned. It’s part of the process.
Build back better?
It was a storage building. The stuff used in SRB is sensitive to electrical discharge.
So I asked Grok because I never heard the term. A Solid Rocket Motor isn’t a motor at all. It is just a solid block of chemicals that burn consistently, the exhaust propelling the craft in (or to) space. I’m curious how one turns it off, or reignites it. Sounds like interesting work. Sorry about the building.
Once it’s lit, it doesn’t stop until all the fuel is gone.
Hadn’t read far enough so it didn’t occur to me. I assumed a SRM was space related, but I guess it could be a miltary use rocket here on earth. I know they use chemicals as fuel for missiles and for space launches. Never thought whether they were solid, liquid or gas mixtures.
Appears they were working on an order for Wile E Coyote, but didn’t quite get the order shipped.
You don’t ‘turn it off’.
It’s like a giant ROMAN CANDLE.
Once it’s lit, you must commit..............................
” A Solid Rocket Motor isn’t a motor at all. It is just a solid block of chemicals that burn consistently, the exhaust propelling the craft in (or to) space”
Much like model rockets have always been propelled.
As far as “turning it off or reigniting it” you don’t.....it burns until all solid fuel is exhausted.....a solid Rocket Motor is a one shot deal.
I don’t know for sure, but it only makes sense that a who bunch of military missiles would use solid rockets...and I do know for sure that the people in those plants are working a vicious amount of overtime, if not for directly supplying Ukraine, then for resupplying our nearly-depleted arsenals.
That’ll buff right out….
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