Scott Nicholas
Orbital ATK provided composite structures and motors for three rockets that  United Launch Alliance used to send one NASA spacecraft and two National Reconnaissance Office payloads into orbit.
ULA launched the Boeing-built Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M as well as the NROL-42 and NROL-52 national security satellites using Atlas V rockets within an eight-week period, Orbital ATK said Tuesday.
Orbital ATK manufactured composite heat shields, Reaction Control System propellant tanks and solid motors for the rockets used on all three missions.
TDRS-M lifted off Aug. 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida as part of efforts to facilitate space communications of NASA’s Space Network for the next 15 years.
The launch of NROL-42 occurred Sept. 23 at Vandenberg AF Base in California, followed by the NROL-52 mission that launched Oct. 15 in Cape Canaveral.
