ATK Composites and Nozzle Perform on Boeing Delta IV
First Delta IV Mission to Use ATK on All Stages
Sep 2, 2003
MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the first time, ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE:ATK) supported a Boeing Delta IV Medium rocket throughout all stages of its mission to deploy the Air Force's Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft, DSCS III B63, from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
ATK Composites, Clearfield, Utah, provided a four-meter diameter composite thermal shield that protected the RS-68 main engine during lift-off as well as the centerbody and liquid Oxygen skirt for the common booster core. ATK Composites also provided a 6.7-meter-long interstage that joined the common booster core and the second stage as well as an 11.6 meter long payload fairing and payload attach assembly that housed the satellite. The structures, made of high-strength, lightweight graphite/epoxy material, were produced at ATK Composites' Southern Composites Center, Iuka, Miss, using advanced hand layup techniques.
ATK Thiokol Propulsion, Promontory, Utah, designed and produced the nozzle for the RS-68 engine as well as the nozzle's thermal protection material, capable of shielding it from the extreme heat of launch when external temperatures can exceed 4,000 degrees F. The Boeing RS-68 is the largest hydrogen fueled engine in the world, utilizing an ATK nozzle that is the first of its kind in a liquid booster engine.
The Boeing Delta IV family of rockets is part of the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which is designed to reduce launch costs and provide assured access to space. The Delta IV Medium launch vehicle is one of five vehicle configurations in the Boeing Delta IV family. Three of the configurations in the Medium + series use either two or four solid rocket strap-on GEM-60 graphite epoxy motors produced by ATK Thiokol Propulsion's Magna, Utah, facility. ATK Composites provides approximately 35 various part configurations for the Boeing Delta IV family. The first launch of a Delta IV vehicle occurred on Nov. 20, 2002.
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/
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Source: Alliant Techsystems
CONTACT: Media, Bryce Hallowell, +1-952-351-3087,
bryce.hallowell@atk.com, or Investors, Steve Wold, +1-952-351-3056,
steve_wold@atk.com, both of ATK
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