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ATK Rocket Motors Help Launch Spanish Communications Satellite Aboard Atlas IIAS Vehicle

Sep 19, 2002

Minneapolis, Sept. 19, 2002 – ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) said four CASTOR® IVA strap-on solid rocket motors produced by ATK Thiokol Propulsion, Promontory, Utah, helped successfully launch the Spanish HISPASAT 1D telecommunications satellite into orbit from a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS vehicle yesterday.

The satellite is the fourth in the Hispasat S.A. telecommunications and digital television system, which provides transcontinental service between Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, North America, and South America. It will expand the Madrid-based company’s telecommunications network and digital direct-to-television services.

ATK Thiokol Propulsion has been producing CASTOR IVA strap-on boosters for the Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket since 1993 with 100-percent launch success. Two of the motors, which measure 40 inches in diameter and 357 inches in length, ignite on the ground at launch, while the remaining two motors ignite in the air approximately 59 seconds into flight.

ATK Thiokol Propulsion is the world’s leading supplier of solid propulsion rocket motors. The company’s product portfolio comprises a wide range of first-stage, second stage, and strap-on boosters, including CASTOR IV, CASTOR 120®, GEM, and Orion motors, the Titan IVB Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU), and the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM).

ATK is a $2.1 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 11,300 people and has three business groups: Aerospace, Precision Systems, and Ammunition. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.