Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE:GY) company, announced today that its AJ10-118k engine powered the second stage of the Delta II launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch will put the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Space Tracking and Surveillance System Demonstrators Program (STSS Demo) payload into orbit.
The STSS Demo satellites — a space-based sensor component of the layered Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) — will track ballistic missiles in all phases of flight. It will join the STSS ATRR satellite, launched in May 2009, to provide a collection of land-, sea-, air- and space-based BMDS sensors.
Under contract to the United Launch Alliance, this same Aerojet engine supported the STSS ATRR launch for NASA as well as a number of their critical space science missions and the USAF Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIR fleet. The engine’s launch history began in 1958 when Aerojet provided second stage propulsion for the Vanguard-1 mission. “Aerojet is proud to support MDA in a mission that provides such important information to our nation’s defense capabilities,” said Vice President of Space Systems, Julie Van Kleeck.
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company’s excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies’ Web sites at http://www.aerojet.com/ and http://www.gencorp.com/.
Source: Aerojet CONTACT: Glenn Mahone, +1-202-302-9941, Glenn.Mahone@Aerojet.com, or Kristin Conner, +1-916-355-2143, Kristin.Conner@Aerojet.com, both of Aerojet
