ATK Supports 35th Flight of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery

MINNEAPOLIS, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems supported the successful launch of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery today. The company's Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM) and Booster Separation Motors (BSM) performed as expected on the mission to transport the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) to the International Space Station (ISS).

ATK-manufactured RSRMs provided the main thrust at liftoff and carried the orbiter and its payload to an altitude of approximately 28 miles in two minutes of flight. The RSRMs produce the equivalent of 15 million in horsepower and have flown on every mission since the inception of the program in 1981.

After two minutes, eight BSMs - four on the forward skirt and four on the aft skirt on each booster - fired to jettison the RSRMs away from the orbiter and external tank, allowing the rocket motors to parachute back down through the Earth's atmosphere to be recovered and reused. ATK's BSMs will continue to be used in the forward location until later this year, when they will be used in the aft skirt as well.

The RSRMs and BSMs will be used for the remainder of the Space Shuttle program with upgraded versions being used on NASA's next-generation launch vehicle - Ares I. ATK is the prime contractor for the Ares I First Stage

STS-124 will carry the largest payload so far to the ISS and is the second of three Space Shuttle flights that will launch components to complete Japan's Kibo laboratory. The mission includes three spacewalks to install the new module and a remote manipulator system. The lab's logistics module, installed in a temporary location during January's STS-123 mission, is to be attached to the new lab. STS-124 is the 123rd Space Shuttle flight and the 26th U.S. flight to the ISS.

ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and $4.5 billion in revenue. News and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/.

Media Contact: Investor Contact: George Torres Steve Wold Phone: 801-699-2637 Phone: 952-351-3056 E-mail: george.torres@atk.com E-mail: steve.wold@atk.com