Orbital ATK Ships Fuel and Oxidizer Tanks for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
September 22 2015 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Company’s Space Components Division
Successfully Tested and Shipped Mission-Critical Spacecraft Tanks
to Northrop Grumman
Shipment Occurred After Successful
Qualification Testing of Tanks
Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE:OA), a global leader in aerospace and
defense technologies, announced its Space Components Division (SCD)
shipped the fuel and oxidizer tanks to Northrop Grumman Corporation
(NYSE: NOC) in Redondo Beach, California for integration into
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These tanks will provide
propulsion for JWST, which is the successor to the Hubble Space
Telescope. The tank shipment comes after a successful qualification
program in which a tank was pressurized to failure following a
grueling qualification test sequence. The tank’s Propellant
Management Device (PMD), designed to provide gas-free propellant in
a low-gravity environment and reduce telescope residual motion, was
successfully slosh tested (ensuring survivability) for four months
prior to manufacture and installation into the tanks.
“The design, manufacture and test of these tanks shows the
commitment and expertise that we provide to our Northrop Grumman
customer and ultimately, NASA,” said David Shanahan, Vice President
and General Manager of Orbital ATK’s SCD. “We are proud that our
work contributes to the James Webb Space Telescope program; the
ultimate reward is delivering a high quality product to the
mission.”
The two tanks were designed and manufactured at Orbital ATK’s
Commerce, California facility, known for the production of tanks
for many NASA programs as well as commercial and military
spacecraft and launch vehicles. The PMD with the unique
slosh-damping feature was designed and analyzed by PMD Technology,
the foremost designer of low-gravity fluid dynamics acquisition
devices, and manufactured by Orbital ATK specifically for the
JWST.
“The delivery of the JWST propellant tanks showed exemplary
collaboration between ATK, Northrop Grumman and NASA and
accomplished a significant milestone in our Spacecraft build and
test program,” said Andy Cohen, Director and JWST Spacecraft
Manager for Northrop Grumman.
Not only will JWST be a large infrared telescope with a
6.5-meter primary mirror, it will be the most powerful space
telescope ever built. It will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from
French Guiana in October 2018.
Serving thousands of astronomers worldwide, JWST will be the
premier observatory of the next decade. It will study every phase
in the history of the universe: to see the first light of the
universe, watch galaxies collide, see stars and planets being born,
find and study exoplanets and study our own solar system.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs more than
12,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in several
international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
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Media:Space Systems Group Public RelationsOrbital
ATKVicki Cox, 703-406-5663vicki.cox@orbitalatk.comorInvestors:Orbital
ATKBarron Beneski, 703-406-5528Investor
Relationsbarron.beneski@orbitalatk.com
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