Orbital ATK Products Enable Completion of Next Generation Global Positioning Satellite Constellation
February 05 2016 - 12:50PM
Business Wire
Final U.S. Air Force GPS IIF Satellite
Successfully Launched Aboard ULA Atlas V Rocket
Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and
defense technologies, contributed integrated hardware to today’s
successful launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V
rocket and the GPS Block IIF satellite payload from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite is the twelfth and final
GPS IIF satellite in the constellation.
The dozen Block IIF GPS satellites replace older,
first-generation GPS satellites and provide improved accuracy,
signal strength and quality to America’s warfighters, allies and
civilian users worldwide. Boeing (NYSE: BA) designed and built the
GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force.
“It is exciting to see another Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
(EELV) launch in which Orbital ATK’s structures and components
contributed to the combined success of both the launch vehicle and
satellite,” said Steve Earl, Vice President and General Manager of
Orbital ATK’s Aerospace Structures Division. “Orbital ATK is
honored to have supported both the U.S. Air Force and ULA
throughout the completion of our next generation GPS
constellation.”
For the ULA Atlas V rocket, Orbital ATK produced the 10-foot
diameter composite heat shield, which provides higher performance
with lower weight, and essential protection for the first stage of
the launch vehicle from engine exhaust temperatures in excess of
4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The assembly was fabricated using
advanced fiber placement manufacturing techniques at Orbital ATK's
Iuka, Mississippi, facility. This marked the 60th ULA Atlas V
launch using Orbital ATK-built composite structures.
This flight marked the 24th successful flight of the Orbital ATK
retro motors. Eight of these solid motors provided thrust for
separation of the spent first stage. The ULA Atlas V retrorocket is
built at Orbital ATK's Elkton, Maryland, facility.
Orbital ATK’s Space Components Division facility in Commerce,
California manufactured the Reaction Control System (RCS)
propellant tanks for the ULA Atlas V rocket.
For the GPS IIF-12 satellite, Orbital ATK provided a host of
products and services, including:
- Orbital ATK’s Goleta, California,
facility designed and manufactured the satellite solar arrays and a
deployment boom. Orbital ATK has achieved 100 percent on-orbit
success on all solar arrays and deployable systems delivered and
launched to date.
- Orbital ATK’s San Diego, California,
facility manufactured the composite solar array substrates and
structural components.
- Orbital ATK’s Commerce, California,
facility had responsibility for the ullage tank assembly, including
the blankets, heaters, thermistors and pressurant lines. This tank
is a spherical vessel constructed of titanium.
- Orbital ATK’s Beltsville, Maryland,
facility provided heat pipes for the GPS IIF equipment and radiator
panels.
- Orbital ATK’s Rancho Bernardo,
California, facility performed final assembly and RF (Radio
Frequency) testing of the antenna suite for GPS IIF between 2003
and 2010.
The Block IIF series provides improved accuracy, enhanced
internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal
for commercial aviation and a longer design life. The GPS IIF-12
satellite provides space-based system global location and time
information in all weather conditions.
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
approximately 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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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160205005671/en/
Media Contact:Orbital ATK Aerospace StructuresBryan
Warren (801) 775-1233Sr. Communications
Managerbryan.warren@orbitalatk.comorInvestor Contact:Orbital
ATKBarron Beneski (703) 406-5528Public and Investor
Relationsbarron.beneski@orbitalatk.com
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