ATK Propulsion,
Composite And Space Technologies Support Successful Launch Of GPS
Satellite
(17 March 2008) Alliant Techsystems
supported today's successful launch of the United Launch Alliance's Delta II
rocket carrying the U.S. Air Force's sixth modernised Global Positioning System
Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) navigation satellite built by Lockheed
Martin.
Nine GEM-40 solid propulsion strap-on boosters
manufactured in ATK's Salt Lake City, Utah, facility provided augmented thrust
for the launch. ATK's Clearfield, Utah, facility produced the composite cases
for the GEM-40 boosters using an automated filament winding process developed
and refined through its 40-year-heritage in composite manufacturing. Six of the
boosters ignited at lift-off with the first-stage main engine and provided over
824,000 pound maximum thrust for the launch vehicle. Just over one minute
later, the remaining three boosters ignited to provide an additional 427,000
pound maximum thrust. The spent motors were jettisoned from the rocket as it
continued its ascent.
Following burnout and separation of the GEM-40
boosters, STAR motors produced in ATK's Elkton, Md., facility were used to
complete the Delta II boost phase and spacecraft orbit insertion. One hour and
five minutes into the Delta II operation, an ATK-produced STAR 48B rocket motor
acting as the Delta II third stage fired. Following the motor's 85-second burn,
the satellite, designated GPS IIR-19(M), was separated from the launch vehicle
and allowed to coast. After a two-day coast period, ATK's STAR 37FM motor will
be ignited via an ATK Model 2134B safe-and-arm device, placing the GPS
spacecraft in its final orbit within the GPS constellation.
The GPS
constellation provides critical situational awareness and precision weapon
guidance for the military and supports a wide range of civil, scientific and
commercial functions -- from air traffic control to the Internet -- with
precision location and timing information. Lockheed Martin and its navigation
payload provider ITT of Clifton, N.J. designed and built 21 IIR spacecraft and
subsequently modernised eight of those spacecraft designated Block IIR-M for
the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los
Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
GPS IIR-M satellites includes an upgrade
from the baseline GPS IIR design that incorporates two new military signals for
enhanced accuracy and a second civil signal on a different frequency. This
upgrade resulted in a load, which is managed via a 3-foot x 5-foot equipment
panel with an enhanced thermal control architecture that implements a network
of embedded heat pipes for efficient heat acquisition and distribution. ATK's
Beltsville, Md., facilities fabricated and tested the upgraded panels under
contract to Lockheed Martin, contributing to the overall mission success of the
high profile GPS IIR-M capability upgrade.
ATK is an advanced weapon and
space systems company with annual revenues in excess of US$ 4.1 billion that
employs approximately 17,000 people in 21 states.
(source:
ATK)
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