ATK has
delivered the first ship set of second and third stage rocket motors for the
Minuteman III Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP) more than two weeks ahead
of schedule. The ship set, targeted for delivery by July 9, was delivered to
ICBM prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation on June 23.
The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman provided qualification
certification to ATK on June 16, after the company completed a Functional
Configuration Audit verifying that the qualification motors met all technical
requirements. Qualification consisted of subscale and full-scale propellant
mixes culminating in the static firing of three qualification motors. The
first motor tested was a second stage fired in California at sea level, while
a set of second and third stage motors were tested at simulated altitude in a
vacuum chamber at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma,
Tenn. All test objectives were achieved.
John Sucher, Vice President of Strategic and Commercial Programs, said the
qualification process was concluded in record time, allowing the early
delivery of the first production ship set that met all quality standards.
“This accomplishment is yet another demonstration of why ATK is the
world’s leading producer of solid rocket motors,” said Sucher. “ATK’s
unmatched technical expertise, and commitment to quality and safety, combined
with the state of the art mixing and casting facilities allowed us to return
the PRP program to production status ahead of schedule.”
ATK is a $2.4 billion advanced weapons and space systems company employing
13,100 people in 23 states. News and information can be found on the
Internet at http://www.atk.com .
