ATK Propulsion and Composite Technologies Support Launch of Military Satellite Aboard

Source: Alliant Techsystems ^ | Friday February 20, 11:16 am ET | Press Release

[BenLurkin]

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK - News) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported the recent launch of a Lockheed Martin Titan IV B rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., that successfully placed into orbit a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite.

Two Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters manufactured by ATK Thiokol Propulsion in Magna, Utah, provided the initial lift for the Titan IV B rocket. The boosters, which measure 112 feet in length and 10.5 feet in diameter, hold nearly 700,000 pounds of propellant and supply 3.4 million pounds of thrust. The SRMU boosters have been flying on Titan IV B missions since 1997.

The graphite epoxy cases for the SRMU boosters are manufactured by ATK Composites, Clearfield, Utah. The cases, which are fabricated using a process first introduced by the company in 1958 and modernized and automated over the years, support space launches by a variety of vehicles, including Delta, Titan IV B, Pegasus®, and Taurus®.

Additional ATK solid rocket motors were used in booster and stage separation. Staging rockets manufactured by ATK Tactical Systems at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W. Va., safely moved the spent SRMU boosters away from the launch vehicle.

Built by Lockheed Martin, the Titan IV B is the nation's largest, most powerful expendable launch vehicle, and capable of boosting up to 47,800 pounds into low-Earth orbit or more than 12,700 pounds into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth.

ATK is the world's leading supplier of solid rocket motors, with products that range from 3-inch diameter spin motors to the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM), which measure 12 feet in diameter. The company is also a leading manufacturer of composite structures for space launch vehicles, satellites, spacecraft, and commercial and military aircraft.

ATK is a $2.2 billion aerospace and defense company with strong positions in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and civil and sporting ammunition. The company, which is headquartered in Edina, Minn., employs approximately 12,600 people and has three business groups: Precision Systems, Aerospace, and Ammunition and Related Products. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com .

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the post.

Wonder if Thiokol took over the old Hercules plant ?

[baltodog]

A good friend of mine worked for them in Mississippi.

He told me that the turnover rate there was outrageous because of the crappy way they treated thier engineers. These are $50K a year jobs, too.

He really loved Iuka and stayed there for a while after he quit, but now he's in Dallas working at some small supplier called L'heed Martin...