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ATK Helps Send MESSENGER Spacecraft on Its Way to Mercury Aboard a Boeing Delta II

ATK Advanced Space Systems Play Crucial Role in 4.9 Billion Mile MESSENGER Mission

Aug 3, 2004

Minneapolis, August 3, 2004 – ATK (NYSE: ATK) rocket motors helped launch a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral earlier this morning carrying NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft to Mercury where it will study the hot, heavily-cratered planet. The journey to Mercury will last six-and-a-half years and cover a distance of 4.9 billion miles.

Not only did ATK help launch the mission with nine ATK GEM-46 solid propulsion strap-on boosters, the company provided a STAR™ 48 motor that ignited within an hour of lift off to help give the spacecraft the proper trajectory to begin its journey.

Blake Larson, president, ATK Composites, said, that the distance and length of time for MESSENGER to get to Mercury required innovative lightweight composite materials that can withstand the harsh environments of space travel. On the sunlit side of Mercury, temperatures can exceed 800 degrees Fahrenheit while nightside temperatures can reach 350 degrees below zero.

"ATK is a world leading producer of advanced composite materials and the MESSENGER mission demonstrates our unique ability to build systems and subsystems that advance our knowledge of the heavens," said Larson.

ATK is a $2.4 billion advanced weapon and space systems company employing 13,100 people in 23 states. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.