ATK Delivers First Minuteman III Motor Set Ahead Of Schedule

NUKEWARS

The nightstreak of a Minuteman III

Minneapolis MN (SPX) Aug 17, 2004
ATK has delivered the first ship set of second and third stage rocket motors for the Minuteman III Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP) more than two weeks ahead of schedule. The ship set, targeted for delivery by July 9, was delivered to ICBM prime contractor Northrop Grumman on June 23.

The US Air Force and Northrop Grumman provided qualification certification to ATK on June 16, after the company completed a Functional Configuration Audit verifying that the qualification motors met all technical requirements.

Qualification consisted of subscale and full-scale propellant mixes culminating in the static firing of three qualification motors.

The first motor tested was a second stage fired in California at sea level, while a set of second and third stage motors were tested at simulated altitude in a vacuum chamber at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn. All test objectives were achieved.

John Sucher, Vice President of Strategic and Commercial Programs, said the qualification process was concluded in record time, allowing the early delivery of the first production ship set that met all quality standards.

"This accomplishment is yet another demonstration of why ATK is the world's leading producer of solid rocket motors," said Sucher.

"ATK's unmatched technical expertise, and commitment to quality and safety, combined with the state of the art mixing and casting facilities allowed us to return the PRP program to production status ahead of schedule."

NUKEWARS

Updating The Code For Doomsday

Minot AFB ND (AFN) Aug 11, 2004
For the better part of a year, the 91st Space Wing's intercontinental ballistic missiles sit poised and waiting in stony silence ready to launch at a moment's notice.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT	CLIMATE SCIENCE Satellites Act As Thermometers In Space Moss Landing Researchers Reveal Iron As Key To Climate Change Forecasters Can Count Lightning Strikes to Estimate Rainfall Scientists "Reconstruct" Earth's Climate Over Past Millennia
EARTH OBSERVATION SMART-1 Progresses Towards The Moon Satellites Are Tracking Europe's Forest Fire Scars Joint Activity In Spain And Space Advances ESA's Hyperspectral Mission Globecomm And Agility Support Hurricane Charley Recovery Efforts In Florida	ENERGY TECH Sun Solaris Compute Grid Powers NextGen Nuclear Reactor Design From The DoE Nuclear Energy Institute Praises Exelon-DOJ Used Fuel Settlement Asymmetric Feature Shows Puzzling Face For Superconductivity Scientists Able To Harness Plankton Power
EPIDEMICS	FLORA AND FAUNA Customer Takes Control Of Thuraya Boeing to Ship NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to Florida for March Launch Eutelsat Boosts Hispasat Stake To 27 Percent Intelsat Secures Launch Services For Intelsat X Series Satellites
FROTH AND BUBBLE	ABOUT US

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement