ATK
(Alliant Techsystems) solid propulsion and composite technologies
supported the successful launch yesterday of a Lockheed Martin Titan IV B
rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. that successfully placed
into orbit a Department of Defense Milstar II communications satellite.

Two Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters manufactured by ATK Thiokol
Propulsion at its Magna, Utah, production plant provided the initial lift for
the Titan IV B rocket. The boosters, which measure 112 feet in length and
10.5 feet in diameter, hold nearly 700,000 pounds of propellant and supply
3.4 million pounds of thrust. The SRMU boosters have been flying on Titan IV
B missions since 1997.

The graphite epoxy cases for the SRMU boosters are manufactured by ATK
Composites, Clearfield, Utah. The cases, which are fabricated using a process
first introduced by the company in 1958 and modernized and automated over the
years, support space launches by a variety of vehicles, including Delta, Titan
IV B, Pegasus®, and Taurus®.

Additional ATK solid rocket motors were used in booster and stage
separation. Staging rockets manufactured by ATK Tactical Systems at the
Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W. Va., safely moved the
spent SRMU boosters away from the launch vehicle.

After the liquid second-stage engine completed its burn, four STAR(TM) 5CB
retrorockets jettisoned the spent second stage from the vehicle. ATK Elkton,
Elkton, Md., produces the STAR motors.

The nation’s largest, most powerful expendable launch vehicle, the Titan
IV B is capable of boosting up to 47,800 pounds into low-Earth orbit or more
than 12,700 pounds into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. It
is built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company-Space & Strategic Missiles
near Denver, Colo.

The Milstar constellation of satellites, also built by Lockheed Martin, is
designed to provide highly secure jam-resistant communications for military
users with mobile terminals. The satellites weigh approximately 10,000
pounds, requiring a large, heavy-lift launch vehicle like the Titan IV B
rocket to boost them to geosynchronous orbit. The Milstar satellite placed
into orbit yesterday is the sixth and final one in the constellation.

ATK is the world’s leading supplier of solid rocket motors, with a product
portfolio that ranges from 3-inch diameter spin motors to the Space Shuttle’s
Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM), which measure 12 feet in diameter. The
company is also a leading manufacturer of composite structures for space
launch vehicles, satellites, spacecraft, and commercial and military aircraft.

ATK is a $2.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading positions
in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, and precision capabilities.
The company, which is headquartered in Edina, Minn., employs approximately
12,000 people and has three business groups: Aerospace, Precision Systems,
and Ammunition. ATK news and information can be found at www.atk.com .