[May 17, 2013] ATK provides hardware for GPS IIF-4 satellite Tweet May 17, 2013 (AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION via COMTEX) -- Virginia, USA-based aerospace firm ATK (NYSE: ATK) said it provided critical hardware for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V that launched the US Air Force's Global Positioning System IIF-4 satellite this week from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. GPS IIF-4 is the fourth satellite delivered by prime contractor Boeing as part of the GPS IIF contract for 12 next-generation GPS space vehicles. According to ATK, the satellites continue to modernise the GPS constellation while providing positioning, navigation and timing services to civil and military users worldwide. For the ULA Atlas V rocket, ATK produced the 10-foot diameter composite heat shield, which provides essential protection for the first stage of the launch vehicle. ATK said that the assembly was fabricated using advanced fiber placement manufacturing techniques at ATK's Iuka, Miss., facility. This is the 38th Atlas V launch using ATK-built composite structures. The Atlas V rocket flew in the 401 vehicle configuration with a four-meter fairing and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. ATK manufactured the reaction control system propellant tank for the Atlas V at its Commerce, Calif., facility. ATK also recently completed qualification of a new retrorocket, and eight of those solid motors supported separation of the spent first stage. The Atlas retrorocket is built at ATK's Elkton, Md., facility. The Block IIF series will replace the GPS Block IIA satellites that were launched between 1990 and 1997. Find out more at www.atk.com. Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]