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ATK Solid Rocket Boosters Successfully Launch U.S. Air Force Satellite Aboard Titan IV B Rocket

May 11, 2000

ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) said a Lockheed Martin Titan IV B rocket powered by two Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters designed and manufactured by Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company successfully launched a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. on May 8. The satellite joins a constellation of similar satellites used by the U.S. Air Force to provide early warning of missile launches worldwide.

Jeff Foote, president, Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company, said the two 112-foot-long SRMU boosters performed flawlessly in support of the important national security mission.

"This launch continued the kind of consistent and predictable performance that we have seen over the course of the six previous Titan IV B missions supported by SRMU boosters," said Foote. "This repeatable performance provides convincing reinforcement to both our highly controlled manufacturing processes and the outstanding ATK people who build these nationally critical boosters. Another job well done by the SRMU team."

Foote said the May 8 launch was the first of three Titan IV B launches scheduled this year.

Flight qualification testing on the SRMU booster was completed in 1993, with the first flight occurring in February 1997. Among the Titan IV B missions since then was the launch of the Cassini/Huygens voyage to Saturn in October 1997.

There are two SRMU boosters on the Titan IV B vehicle, each measuring 112 feet in length and 126 inches in diameter. The three-segment motor cases are made of graphite epoxy composite material, which reduces the inert weight of the SRMU from its steel-cased predecessor motor, despite the SRMU's larger size and greater amount of solid propellant. The SRMU also includes advanced electronics that are fully compliant with range safety requirements.

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-Astronautics Operations near Denver, Colo.

Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company is part of ATK's Aerospace business segment, which comprises the company's space and strategic propulsion and Utah- and Mississippi-based composite structures operations. The group employs approximately 1,700 people in California, Florida, Mississippi, New York, and Utah. Sales in fiscal year 1999 were $395 million. The SRMU boosters are manufactured at the group's Utah Composites Center in Clearfield, Utah, and Utah Propulsion Center in Magna, Utah.

ATK is a $1.1 billion aerospace and defense company with leading market positions in munitions, solid propulsion, composite structures, and precision defense capabilities. The company, which is headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., employs approximately 6,400 people and has three business segments: Aerospace, Conventional Munitions, and Defense Systems. ATK news and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/

SOURCE: Alliant Techsystems

Contact: Media, Rod Bitz, 612-931-5413, rod_bitz@atk.com, or Investors,
Melanie E. R. Miller, 612-931-6921, melanie_miller@atk.com, both of Alliant Techsystems