Northrop Grumman’s AI Revolution in Space Engineering

June 1, 2026

Northrop Grumman
Arlington, VA
www.northropgrumman.com

Teaming with Flexcompute powered by NVIDIA, Northrop Grumman recently created a physics AI model that accurately predicts thruster impingement – a challenging simulation and modeling problem that exists when the exhaust from a spacecraft or rocket will interact or impact other nearby spacecraft or surfaces. This design process is critical for a variety of missions that require precision and maneuverability, such as space robotics, satellite servicing and docking.

“Northrop Grumman continues to build on their bold legacy in space through teaming with companies at the frontier of technological innovation, such as Flexcompute.” said Qiqi Wang, Co-founder of Flexcompute and Associate Professor at MIT. “Our collaboration to develop an AI foundation model for problems as complex as plume impingement highlights how the previously unsolvable becomes achievable.”

This physics AI breakthrough enables accurate predictions in seconds rather than days, reducing a key aspect of product development by a factor of 100.

“The industry’s most ambitious space missions now demand a level of speed and precision that traditional engineering cycles can no longer sustain,” said Tim Costa, vice president and general manager of computational engineering at NVIDIA. “By integrating NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo, Northrop Grumman and Flexcompute are transforming complex simulations like plume impingement from days of compute into seconds of insight, drastically accelerating the path from mission concept to orbit.”

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