Northrop Grumman has unveiled its new Maryland Space Assembly and Test (MSAT) 2, a 55,000 square-foot addition to its Linthicum-based facility. The MSAT2 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, with a central feature being 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.

“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, 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.