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ATK Rocket Motors Launch Space Shuttle Endeavour on Mission to International Space Station

Nov 25, 2002

Minneapolis, Nov. 25, 2002 – Two reusable solid rocket motors manufactured by ATK’s (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) Aerospace Group helped launch NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Nov. 23 on a mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour will deliver a truss structure to the International Space Station, which will be used to continue outward expansion of the orbital outpost. The Shuttle also will bring a replacement resident crew to the station. The mission is scheduled to end with the landing of Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 4.

Manufactured by ATK Thiokol Propulsion, Promontory, Utah – the world’s leading supplier of solid propellant rocket motors – the Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first designed for reuse. Key facts about the RSRM:

· Each RSRM consists of 11 case segments designed for reuse up to 20 launches or static tests.
· The RSRMs provide 71 percent of thrust at liftoff and during first-stage ascent.
· From ignition to end of burn, each RSRM generates an average thrust of 2.6 million pounds and burns for approximately 124 seconds.
· Each motor is just over 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter. The entire booster – including nose cap, frustum, and forward and aft skirts – is approximately 149 feet long. Of the motor's total approximate weight of 1.25 million pounds, propellant accounts for approximately 1.1 million pounds.
· By the time the RSRMs have completed their task, the Space Shuttle orbiter has reached an altitude of 24 nautical miles and is traveling at a speed in excess of 3,000 miles per hour.
· With safety, quality, and reliability as their primary objectives, engineers from ATK Thiokol Propulsion direct approximately 110,000 quality-control inspections on each RSRM flight set.

ATK Thiokol Propulsion Reusable Solid Rocket Motors have provided the initial lift for every NASA Space Shuttle launch since the first flight of Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981. Other products manufactured by the company include solid propulsion systems for the Delta, PegasusÒ, TaurusÒ, Athena, Atlas, H-IIA, and Titan IV B space launch vehicles, the Trident II Fleet Ballistic and the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and ground-based missile defense interceptors.

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 11,500 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.