SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that it successfully completed a test of its Atlas® V solid rocket motor on a new test fixture at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Edwards AFB, Calif. The solid rocket motor test took place on April 1, 2005 at AFRL.
The solid rocket motor will be used on the Lockheed Martin Atlas V launch vehicle. This first test of the new test fixture qualified the Block B design of the Atlas V solid rocket motor. The test Friday was the first of three planned Atlas V Block B motor tests at AFRL.
Aerojets single-structure solid rocket motor is 67-feet long and capable of producing more than 250,000 lbs. of thrust for the Atlas V launch vehicle. The previous generation of the solid rocket motor has flown on three separate successful Atlas V missions for Lockheed Martin.
Aerojet, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin, began construction of the test fixture in 2004. The test fixture is permanent and is intended for testing multiple types of solid rocket motors. Construction of the stand was completed in February 2005.
Working closely with our Lockheed Martin customer, the U.S. Air Force and NASA, Aerojet constructed a state-of-the-art test stand to meet the growing needs of the solid rocket motor market, said Aerojet President Michael Martin. This stand enables Aerojet to conduct the tests necessary to prove out new technologies being developed at Aerojets Sacramento manufacturing site.
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate business segment that includes activities related to the development, sale and leasing of the Companys real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the Companies web sites at http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com.
Copyright © 2005, Brian Webb. All rights reserved.