Article Posted on : - Jul 27, 2011

Photo: ATK.

SALT LAKE CITY (BNS): ATK has received a $48 million major subcontractor award from Orbital Sciences Corporation to provide commercial solid rocket motors for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) target rocket programme.

ATK's Orion solid rocket motors will provide first and second stage propulsion for the target rocket.

"This is an entirely new application for our versatile Orion solid rocket motor family. ATK Orion motors are currently used by MDA and Orbital for missile defense and in a variety of Orbital commercial launch vehicles," Scott Lehr, ATK Aerospace Systems vice president and general manager of Strategic and Commercial Systems, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

ATK's contract includes an initial award of $48 million for the first eight Orion 50S XLT and 50 XLT vehicles to be delivered by first quarter 2013, with contract options for delivery of 14 additional vehicles over the following two years, the release added.

The Orion motor product line was initiated in 1988 in a joint venture with Orbital for the development of the winged Pegasus space launch vehicle. Since then, the motors have been modified for use on a variety of platforms, including Pegasus XL, Taurus and Taurus XL, Minotaur I and IV, Hyper-X. Versions of Orion motors are also used on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Orbital Boost Vehicle.