Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE:GY) company, announced today that its engines contributed to Space Shuttle Atlantis’s (STS-132) on-orbit operations and successful docking to the International Space Station (ISS). The shuttle lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 14 and docked with the ISS on Sunday.
Space Shuttle Atlantis will deliver and permanently install an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1 to the ISS. Three space walks are also planned to complete the staging of spare components outside the Station.
Aerojet manufactured the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines and the Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, each having flown on every shuttle mission since its launch inception in 1981, as well as gas generators supporting the Auxiliary Power Units. The two OMS engines are used to place the shuttle into orbit and return it to earth. The 38 primary and six Vernier RCS thrusters are used for attitude control during flight operations such as payload insertions and ISS docking.
“As we wind down to these last few missions, Aerojet recognizes all that the space shuttle program has done for our nation for many decades,” said GenCorp President & CEO and Aerojet President, Scott Seymour. “We look forward to continuing to support space exploration as we go forward.”
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/.
