Jane Edwards
Orbital ATK supplied composite structures, motors and other components for a Delta IV rocket that United Launch Alliance launched Friday to bring a National Reconnaissance Office payload into space.
Orbital ATK said Friday the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture’s Delta IV rocket that took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of the NROL-47 national defense mission has two Orbital ATK-built Graphite Epoxy Motors 60 solid rocket motors that provided at least 560,000 pounds of thrust during the launch.
Orbital ATK will integrate GEM 63 solid boosters into ULA’s Atlas V and supply GEM 63L motors for new Vulcan rockets by 2019.
The company also provided seven composite structures for the rocket, a propellant tank for the upper stage and a nozzle for the vehicle’s RS-68A engine.
The Dulles, Virginia-based aerospace and defense contractor produced the boosters at its facilities in Utah and composite structures at its Iuka, Mississippi-based facilities.
The propellant tank and nozzle were respectively manufactured at the company’s facilities in California and Utah.
