• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • NEWS:
  • SatNews
  • SatMagazine
  • MilSatMagazine
  • SmallSat News
  • |     EVENTS:
  • SmallSat Symposium
  • Satellite Innovation
  • MilSat Symposium

SatNews

  • HOME
  • Magazines
  • Events
  • SmallSat Symposium Updates
  • Industry Calendar
    • IN PERSON
    • VIRTUAL
  • Subscribe

Northrop Grumman Increases Their Collaboration with SMC

September 27, 2020

Enhanced Polar System Control and Planning Segment (EPS CAPS)

Northrop Grumman’s Enhanced Polar System – Recapitalization (EPS-R) Control and Planning Segment (CAPS) program is essential to provide continuous coverage for secure, jam-resistant, strategic and tactical communications in the Earth’s North Polar Region.

As the company works on the program that facilitates military satellite communications, the team is implementing Agile methodologies to better enable increased customer collaboration, rapid adjustment to changing mission requirements and quality-enhanced efficiency. The program is working to move quickly and efficiently in bringing capabilities when and where the U.S. Space Force needs them most.

Most recently, the legacy EPS CAPS program was called upon by the U.S. Navy to assist in exercises taking place in the Barents Sea with vessels returning to the area for the first time since the mid-1980s. EPS CAPS helped reinforce the foundation of Arctic readiness and assisted in building trust across the region.

As the follow-on EPS-R CAPS program moves forward with an Agile framework and DevSecOps development principles, assisting in similar future missions will come with reduced time and labor, expenditures of software development and fully automated creation of the software build.

In 2019, EPS-R CAPS customer leadership under the direction of Major Craig Zinck, EPS-R Ground program manager, U.S. Space Force, asked the program to provide an Agile Transformation Plan and path forward. Transitioning to an Agile framework with DevSecOps development would provide greater transparency and lead to increased cost savings.

Agile and DevSecOps are complimentary approaches that promote a cohesive collaboration between development, security and operations working towards continuous and rapid integration and delivery. This is achieved through intimate and transparent collaboration across program teams and disciplines.

To begin the transition process, a certified agile coach conducted agile 101 training for Northrop Grumman program personnel and the U.S. Space Force’s EPS-R CAPS program office. The team instituted agile scrum events, including sprint planning, sprint execution and reviews/retrospectives that are key elements in building an agile framework. A continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline was created and as a first step in this process. The software build creation is now 100 percent automated, reducing build time from 2-4 days to a couple hours.

In addition, increased transparency has been realized as part of the agile sprint-planning, reviews and retrospectives. Even as employees have had to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has been able to hold virtual sprint reviews that demonstrates the progress being made at the speed of need.

The agile methodology has reduced costs and provided increased efficiency on the EPS-R CAPS program. The long-term plan for the program is to keep improving and evolving processes leading to updated, high-quality deployments to operations at a higher frequency. To execute this vision, the program will continue to incorporate a collaborative, cross-functional, cross-segment approach incorporating customer and end-user feedback.

Executive Comments

“Understanding the speed at which space operates in today’s contested environment, we can’t afford to continue developing space capability at the tempo of the past,” said 1st Lt. Brandon Lopez, EPS-R CAPS lead, Space Production Corps, Space and Missile Systems Center. “Our move to an Agile framework with DevSecOps, an approach that creates a cohesive collaboration between development, security and operations working towards continuous and rapid integration and delivery, demonstrates our commitment to accelerate war-fighting capability delivery and to the future of space systems development.”

“The transition to Agile and DevSecOps practices is a perfect example of our team’s flexibility and Northrop Grumman’s commitment to helping our customers,” said Rob Fleming, VP, Strategic Force Programs, Northrop Grumman. “By transitioning to Agile we are able to work more collaboratively with our Space Force customer and quickly adapt to changing mission requirements, as we work to consistently and rapidly deliver important capabilities.”

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Stories

  • In Their Honor ... Lest We Forget
  • Space Debris, and the EU’s Space Act
  • Rocket Lab partners with U.S.A.F. | AFRL for Neutron launch for rocket cargo missions
  • INNOSPACE signs strategic MoU with Saturn Satellite Networks to develop + launch smallsats
  • AST SpaceMobile to launch 243 satellites

About Satnews

  • Contacts
  • History

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020

Secondary Sidebar

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
x
Sign up Now (For Free)
Access daily or weekly satellite news updates covering all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry.
Invalid email address
Notify Me Regarding ( At least one ):
We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. You may also unsubscribe at anytime.

Click Here to see our full privacy policy.
Thanks for subscribing!