Aug 24 2004
ATK Advanced Propulsion and Space Systems (APSS), the company’s newest business group, has received a series of advanced technology contracts valued at $8.5 million. Follow-on options could bring the total value to $18.5 million. APSS was formed on April 1, 2004, and is chartered with extending the company’s reach into advanced propulsion, composite and space systems technologies.
Don Shaffer, senior vice president, APSS, said the recent contract wins highlight ATK’s wealth of experience in advanced composite structures used in next-generation weapons and space systems.
“Composite structures are critical to affordable and safe space exploration as well as advanced weaponry,” said Shaffer. “ATK is a world leader in composite material fabrication and these recent wins confirm the company’s strategy to group all of its composite engineering and fabrication in one cohesive business that gives the best value to our customers.”
Details of the contracts are as follows:
- Delivery of fully functional Electrostatically Clean Solar Array (ECSA) panels to Swales Aerospace for NASA’s THEMIS program, a constellation of five small satellites scheduled for launch in 2006-2007 aboard a single Delta II rocket.
- Development of high-temperature aeroshells that provide protective cover for spacecraft during descent and landing on future missions to Mars or other destinations.
- A 16-month contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/ML) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to improve affordability of future aircraft engines. ATK will perform seven specific tasks intended to maintain the physical and mechanical properties of the material system while significantly reducing costs.
- Development and demonstration of a cost-effective tooling approach for fabricating large composite components for an Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicle (EELV) under a contract to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/VS) at Kirtland Air Force Base.
- The design, fabrication and testing for AFRL/VS of large composite payload fairings for space launch applications. Technology innovations include an efficient, out-of-autoclave cure process designed to reduce manufacturing lead times.
- Design, development and engineering support for an industry team formed by WebCore Technologies, Kettering, Ohio, to design, build, and test a lightweight, low-cost weapons bay door for the Boeing Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) vehicle.
- Production of the composite filament-wound Airborne Fire Fighting System (AFFS) Main Tanks for the Lockheed Martin C-130 adapted for fire fighting missions.
For more information on space craft, click here.