ATK (Alliant Techsystems) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported the recent
launch of a Lockheed Martin Titan IV B rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla., that successfully placed into orbit a Defense Support Program
(DSP) satellite.

Two Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters manufactured by ATK Thiokol
Propulsion in Magna, Utah, 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.

Built by Lockheed Martin, the Titan IV B is the nation’s largest, most
powerful expendable launch vehicle, and 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.

ATK is the world’s leading supplier of solid rocket motors, with products
that range 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 $2.2 billion aerospace and defense company with strong positions
in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and
civil and sporting ammunition. The company, which is headquartered in Edina,
Minn., employs approximately 12,600 people and has three business groups:
Precision Systems, Aerospace, and Ammunition and Related Products. ATK news
and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com .