ATK to Acquire Swales Aerospace April 4, 2007
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in ATK, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, News and politics, Rocketplane Kistler.add a comment
Beltsville, MD based Swales designs and manufactures spacecraft subsystems, small satellites, and EVA tools. They created several of the thermal sensors and other hand-held tools used on the Return to Flight Shuttle missions and thermal blankets and radiators found on the ISS as well as many NASA, NOAA, and DoD spacecraft.
ATK is slowly acquiring companies and partnerships that will eventually allow the business to handle complete missions from the design and engineering phase to launch and in space operations. Their partnership agreement last year with Rocketplane Kistler was intended to gain access to the medium lift K1 booster. Now ATK has swallowed up some impressive engineering talent and experience as well as satellite subsystem design and fabrication facilities. Boeing and Lockheed-Martin better watch their backs. ATK is on the prowl.
Rocketplane Kistler and ATK form strategic partnership November 9, 2006
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in ATK, Rocketplane Kistler, Space Startups.add a comment
This week Rocketplane Kistler announced a new partner would lead the development of its K-1, reusable two-stage launch vehicle. The K-1 is Rocketplane’s entry into NASA’s COTS development program to demonstrate commercial cargo delivery to the ISS. In September, only a month after securing the $207 million contract, the program floundered when Orbital Sciences, their prime contractor, backed out of the deal. Now Rocketplane is back on track with ATK (Alliant Techsystems) joining the team.
ATK brings many years of experience in the industry. They built and maintain the solid rocket boosters that push the Shuttle into orbit, as well as many other military and civilian systems. They help repair the legitimacy that Rocketplane lost when Orbital Sciences departed.
ATK will lead the development, assembly, integration, and launch preparation of the K-1 launch vehicle. Essentially, all of booster development and production is in the hands of ATK. Andrews, Rocketplane’s other strategic partner, will lead up development of the cargo module, and other orbital systems. Rocketplane’s role is like that of a project manager who sets the design requirements, and oversees the process, but farms out each step to experts in other fields.
Randy Brinkley, of Rocketplane, said, “We are very excited about our strategic industrial partnership with ATK.” With ATK’s assistance, they intend to ship the first K-1 booster to their Australialian launch site in September 2008. The COTS demonstration flights will follow at a rate of one launch every two months.
