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ATK Completes First Test Firing of Rocket Motor for New Oriole Sub-Orbital Launch System

May 16, 2000

ATK (NYSE: ATK) (Alliant Techsystems), said Alliant Missile Products Company, Rocket Center, W. Va., has successfully completed the first of two planned test firings of a solid rocket motor for the new Oriole sub-orbital launch system.

Alliant Missile Products Company is developing the motor for Astrotech Space Operations, Inc., which is proposing the Oriole system in a competition to field a low-cost rocket that can launch NASA scientific payloads on sub-orbital trajectories. The Oriole will provide between five and 15 minutes of micro-gravity exposure to support scientific research and low-cost validation of experiments to be launched on more costly satellites. The NASA Sounding Rocket Operations contractor, Litton PRC, is expected to select a winner in the competition later this year.

Alex Priskos, president, Alliant Missile Products Company, said the Oriole motor met all its design and performance objectives during the 32-second static test firing, which was conducted at the company's production and test facility at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.

"With the success of this first test, we can now focus our attention on building and delivering a second motor for flight testing in June at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va.," said Priskos. "We are confident it will perform equally as well in this very important milestone test."

The Oriole motor, which measures 22 inches in diameter and 154 inches in length, uses proven off-the-shelf propulsion technology and a filament-wound composite case also produced by Alliant Missile Products Company.

If NASA selects the Oriole system for its next-generation sub-orbital launch system, the initial production program will call for delivery of up to 45 motors over a two-year period. Other potential applications for the system include use as a target vehicle to meet testing and training requirements for the Department of Defense's Theater Missile Defense program, which could significantly increase the requirement for production motors.

Priskos said the Oriole sub-orbital rocket program represents a new business area for Alliant Missile Products Company, which is a leading supplier of solid rocket propulsion systems for tactical missiles.

Astrotech Space Operations, Inc. is a subsidiary of SPACEHAB, Inc., the world's leading provider of commercial services for manned and unmanned missions in space, including habitable modules that provide laboratory facilities and logistics re-supply aboard NASA's Space Shuttles. SPACEHAB also supports NASA astronaut training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Alliant Missile Products Company designs and produces tactical missile propulsion systems, warheads, and metal parts, and composite structures for aircraft and weapons systems. It is part of ATK's Defense Systems segment, which reported revenues of $224 million in fiscal year 1999. The group also produces precision fuzes, anti-tank and demolition systems, precision-guided munitions, infantry weapons, secure electronics subsystems, missile warning systems, and batteries for military and aerospace applications.

ATK is a $1.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading market positions in munitions, precision defense capabilities, solid propulsion, and composite structures. The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately 6,400 people and has three business segments: Conventional Munitions, Aerospace, and Defense Systems. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/

SOURCE: Alliant Techsystems

Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, 612-931-5413, rod_bitz@atk.com, or Investors,
Melanie E. R. Miller, 612-931-6921, melanie_miller@atk.com, both of Alliant Techsystems