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ATK Composite Structure Provides Precision Platform for New Hubble Space Telescope Camera

Mar 15, 2002

A composite structure fabricated by ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK) is an integral part of a new camera installed last week on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by astronauts from the Space Shuttle Columbia as part of a servicing mission to the orbiting astronomical observatory.

The graphite epoxy bench produced by the Space Structures Division of ATK Aerospace Composite Structures, Magna, Utah, for Ball Aerospace serves as a high-precision, stable truss for the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which is expected to increase the space telescope's discovery efficiency by a factor of ten. The new camera will be five times more sensitive than the current Faint Object Camera on the Hubble, and will have more than twice its viewing field.

Travis Campbell, president, ATK Aerospace Composite Structures, said the strength, light weight, and stability of advanced composite materials in extreme temperatures and harsh environmental conditions make them ideally suited for high-performance aerospace applications like the Hubble Space Telescope.

"The high degree of thermal stability of these materials ensure no dimensional changes in their structure across the operating temperature span," said Campbell. "This precise stability is absolutely essential for the astronomical observations the Hubble telescope performs -- and the critical expertise needed to build these kinds of structures is the reason why ATK was selected for this project."

More than 600 individual components were fabricated and bonded together to form the composite bench, which measures approximately seven-feet long, three-feet wide, and three-feet high.

ATK has fabricated and tested eight of the optical benches for the Hubble telescope, including the current NICMOS program. All of these composite structures programs, which are critical to the performance of the HST, were in support of the Ball Aerospace HST team.

ATK pioneered the use of composite materials in space applications with the fabrication of a graphite truss for Fairchild Industries' ATS-F communications satellite, which was placed into orbit in 1973. The company's graphite composite materials also have been used to construct the high-gain antenna for NASA's Space Station, antenna assemblies for the NASA Scatterometer, and antenna ribs and struts for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

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. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/

SOURCE: Alliant Techsystems

Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, +1-952-351-3063, rod_bitz@atk.com, or
Investors, Steve Wold, +1-952-351-3056, steve_wold@atk.com, both of Alliant Techsystems