ATK (Alliant Techsystems)
said nine of its solid propellant rocket motors helped successfully launch
NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft toward the red planet from Cape Canaveral
Air Station, Fla. earlier this month.
The 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is scheduled to complete its 310-million
mile journey to Mars on October 24, 2001, with the primary science mission
taking place between January 2002 and July 2004.
The spacecraft’s scientific
instruments will tell NASA what the Martian surface is made of and record the
planet’s radiation environment to determine risks to future human exploration.
Previous missions to Mars supported by ATK boosters on board Boeing Delta
II rockets include Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Climate
Orbiter.
The Boeing Delta II motors are manufactured by ATK Aerospace Propulsion
Company, Magna, Utah, which is part of ATK’s Aerospace segment.
The segment
employs approximately 2,300 people in California, Colorado, Florida,
Mississippi, New York, Utah, and West Virginia.
ATK is a $1.6 billion aerospace and defense company with leading positions
in munitions, precision capabilities, propulsion and composite structures.
The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately
10,000 people and has two business segments:
Aerospace and Defense.
ATK news
and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com
