Orbital, GenCorp spar over cause of October rocket crash, Reuters “Orbital ATK Inc and engine maker GenCorp Inc on Tuesday offered competing explanations for what caused the Oct. 28 explosion of Orbital’s Antares rocket, bound for the International Space Station. Ronald Grabe, Orbital’s executive vice president and president of its flight systems group, told the annual Space Symposium conference that an investigation led by his company had concluded the explosion […]

NASA’s Space Launch System Booster Thunders During Successful Ground Test “The largest, most powerful rocket booster ever built successfully fired up Wednesday …” Aerojet, Wikipedia “Between Sept. 25, 1965 and June 17, 1967, three static test firings were done. SL-1 was fired at night, and the flame was clearly visible from Miami 50 km away, producing over 3 million pounds of thrust. SL-2 was fired with similar success and relatively […]

ATK and Orbital Receive U.S. DOJ Clearance for Proposed Merger “Alliant Techsystems Inc. (“ATK”) (NYSE: ATK) and Orbital Sciences Corporation (“Orbital”) (NYSE: ORB) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has unconditionally cleared the proposed merger of ATK’s Aerospace and Defense Groups with Orbital. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) informed ATK and Orbital today, December 4, 2014, that the FTC and DOJ terminated the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period effective […]

ATK and Orbital Continue to Support Plans for Merger “Following this announcement on October 28, 2014, a failure occurred during Orbital’s Antares launch.  Since the incident, the companies have conducted a thorough review and analysis of the launch failure and Orbital’s proposed recovery plan and long-term competitive position.  Following this review, ATK’s board of directors continues to support the strategic merits of the transaction and recommends that ATK stockholders vote […]

The Merger of Equals – Orbital and ATK Aerospace and Defense Groups, SpaceRef Business “It is being billed as a merger of equals to create a new company called Orbital ATK. At first glance it appears to be a reaction to the current state of the market with consolidation and future growth needing a larger more competitive entity.” Orbital & ATK’s Aerospace and Defense Groups to Combine in $5 Billion […]

Northrop Grumman, ATK Complete Backbone of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Northrop Grumman “Northrop Grumman Corporation and teammate ATK have completed manufacturing of the backplane support frame (BSF) for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop Grumman is under contract to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for the design and development of the Webb Telescope’s optics, sunshield and spacecraft.”

James B. Armor Wins 2012 AIAA von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program Management, AIAA “The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce that the 2012 AIAA von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program Management has been won by Maj. Gen. James B. Armor, U.S. Air Force (retired), AIAA Associate Fellow, and vice president, strategy and business development, ATK Space Systems Division, Beltsville, Md.” […]

Space Quarterly Magazine September 2012 Table of Contents, SpaceRef Marc’s note: The September 2012 edition of Space Quarterly Magazine is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 4. There many highlights to the issue including an update on the Israeli and Iranian space programs, an interview with Jim Armor of ATK, Orbital Antares takes flight, the Plutonium shortage and from Neil deGrasse Tyson why a healthy space program equals a […]

ATK Makes Progress with the Liberty Launch System, Commercial Space Watch (With video) “In a trio of media releases ATK announced today that is has signed a deal with NanoRacks, completed a milestone for its contract with NASA for the Commercial Crew Development Program (CCDev) and that partner EADS Astrium has completed tests on tank structures for the Liberty rocket second stage.”

NASA Releases Breakout Videos for the Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Space Watch “Five of NASA’s industry partners participated in the production of breakout videos that highlight the systems they’re creating in collaboration with the Commercial Crew Program during Commercial Crew Development Round 2. Included videos come from: ATK, Boeing, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and ULA.”