ATK Rocket Motors Boost Boeing Delta II Launch Vehicle Carrying Iridium Satellites
Feb 12, 2002
Solid propellant rocket motors manufactured by ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK) helped launch a Boeing Delta II 7920 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Feb. 11 on a mission that successfully placed into orbit five replacement satellites for the Iridium mobile telephone constellation.
Nine GEM 40 strap-on boosters produced by ATK Thiokol Propulsion, Promontory, Utah, provided the initial thrust for the Boeing Delta II rocket. Six of the boosters were ignited at liftoff with the rocket's first-stage main engine. Within a minute after liftoff, the remaining three boosters were air- lit. The spent motors were then jettisoned from the rocket as it continued its mission.
The Iridium system provides global, mobile satellite voice and data solutions with complete coverage of the Earth, including oceans, airways, and Polar regions. With the most recent mission, Boeing Delta II rockets have launched 60 Iridium satellites on twelve flights since 1997.
ATK Thiokol Propulsion, the world's leading supplier of solid-propellant rocket motors, manufactures the GEM family of boosters at its production facility in Magna, Utah. GEM-40 boosters have flown on Boeing Delta II missions since 1990. The GEM-46 booster has flown on the Boeing Delta III rocket. Later this year, the GEM-60 booster will fly for the first time on the new Boeing Delta IV rocket.
ATK is a $2 billion aerospace and defense company with leading positions in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, and precision capabilities. The company, which is headquartered in Edina, Minn., employs approximately 11,200 people and has two business groups: Aerospace and Defense. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/
SOURCE: Alliant Techsystems
Contact: Investors, Steve Wold, +1-952-351-3056, steve_wold@atk.com, or
Media, Rod Bitz, +1-952-351-3063, rod_bitz@atk.com, both of Alliant Techsystems
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