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From Launch to Landing and Beyond, ATK Performs Key Roles on Mars Exploration Rover Missions

Jun 11, 2003

MINNEAPOLIS, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced propulsion and composite technologies developed by ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE:ATK) perform key roles -- from launch to landing -- on two groundbreaking NASA exploratory missions to Mars.

The first of two identical Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) lifted off yesterday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. aboard a Boeing Delta II 7925 rocket powered by nine GEM-40 solid propulsion strap-on boosters which provide additional thrust to the Boeing RS-27A main engine. ATK Thiokol Propulsion manufactures the GEM family of boosters at its production facility in Magna, Utah, continuing a tradition of flight support for Delta II missions that began in 1990. ATK Composites, Clearfield, Utah, manufactures the graphite epoxy cases for the GEM-40 boosters. The lightweight, filament-wound cases are one-fifth the weight of steel.

"These MER missions help highlight the depth and breadth of ATK capability," said Paul David Miller, ATK chairman and chief executive officer. "ATK is proud to support NASA with the capability needed to send the MERs on their long journey, to assist in a safe touchdown and provide a platform for a successful mission."

Following burnout and separation of the GEM 40 boosters and the Delta rocket's liquid second stage, a STAR(TM)48B third-stage rocket motor produced by ATK Elkton, Elkton, Md., fired for 90 seconds to deliver the MER spacecraft into its required trajectory.

Journey to the Red Planet

Yesterday's launch and a second MER launch scheduled on a Boeing Delta II 7925H rocket on June 25, will make their seven-month journey to the Red Planet encased in a strong, lightweight composite lander structure shielding them from the rigors of space travel and the impact of the Mars landing. Composite Optics Inc. (COI), San Diego, Calif., built the lander structures and performed significant design and analysis for the project. In addition, COI manufactured the solar array substrates that provide power during the "cruise" stage to Mars as well as the solar array substrates mounted on the MER to provide power on the surface of Mars.

Descent, Landing and Beyond

In January 2004, the first MER spacecraft will land on Mars near the Gusev Crater. Before landing, three solid propellant gas generators manufactured by ATK will inflate airbags that cocoon the lander and rover assemblies. Three ATK Rocket Assisted Deceleration (RAD) solid rocket motors will subsequently fire to slow the spacecraft's speed of descent to almost zero feet per second. Throughout the descent, three ATK Transverse Impulse Rocket System (TIRS) motors will compensate for lateral drift. The gas generators will continue firing to keep the air bags inflated as the MER bounces and rolls to a stop. The RAD and TIRS motors and gas generators were designed and fabricated by ATK Elkton. ATK also provided the composite/titanium optical mast that houses the MER's navigational and panoramic cameras. Essentially acting as the "head" and "neck" of the rover, the mast gives the rover the necessary height to see greater distances on the Martian surface.

The second MER mission will use many of the same ATK subsystems as the first rover mission with the exception of the Delta II rocket motors. To compensate for the increased distance between the Earth and Mars, the second launch vehicle will use ATK's GEM-46 solid rocket motors, a larger derivative of the highly reliable GEM 40.

ATK is a $2.2 billion aerospace and defense company with strong positions in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and civil and sporting ammunition. The company, which is headquartered in Edina, Minn., employs approximately 12,000 people and has three business groups: Aerospace, Precision Systems, and Ammunition and Related Products. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/
.

The forecasts, projections, expectations, and opportunities for the performance of the company's systems on the MER missions in this news release are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results, including unforeseen delays in NASA's Space Shuttle program, changes in governmental spending and budgetary policies, economic conditions, equity market returns, the company's competitive environment, the timing of awards and contracts, the outcome of contingencies, including litigation and environmental remediation, program performance, and sales projections, in addition to other factors identified in ATK's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Alliant Techsystems

CONTACT: Media Contact, Bryce Hallowell, +1-952-351-3087,
bryce.hallowell@atk.com, or Investor Contact, Steve Wold, +1-952-351-3056,
steve_wold@atk.com, both of ATK