The Elkton site of Orbital ATK, Inc., provided motors for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V vehicle. The Atlas 5 carried NASA satellites that were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
NASA’s MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) is a Solar Terrestrial Probes program comprising four identically instrumented satellites that monitor space conditions.
The conditions can interfere with GPS signals and radio communications and cause excess radiation, forcing airlines to divert their flight paths. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, designed and built the MMS satellites and will also be responsible for mission operations.
“Witnessing yet another successful launch of an Atlas V serves as a reminder of how much Orbital ATK values our partnerships with ULA and NASA,” said Ron Grabe, president of Orbital ATK’s Flight Systems Group. “Our highly engineered composite and control products play an important role in ensuring dependable access to space and affordable innovation for our customers.”
This flight also marked the 18th successful flight of the Orbital ATK retro motors. Eight of these solid motors supported separation of the spent first stage. The Atlas V retrorocket is built by Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group at its facility in Elkton, MD.
Orbital ATK produced the 10-foot diameter composite heat shield, which provides essential protection for the first stage of the launch vehicle. The assembly was fabricated using advanced fiber placement manufacturing techniques at the company’s Iuka, Mississippi, facility.
Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group also built the observatory decks, spacecraft decks and bulkhead support panels at its Beltsville, MD site. facility.
