ATK-Iuka aids MEXSAT launch

DULLES, Va. - Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services launched the Morelos-3 satellite for Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Oct. 2. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocketed into space from Space Launch Complex 41, carrying Mexico's next-generation communications satellite into orbit. Orbital AKT, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, provided critical launch vehicle and satellite payload hardware for the Morelos-3 satellite. Morelos-3 is the second satellite that comprises the MEXSAT communications satellite system owned by Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, a Mexican government agency. (Source: Business Wire 10/02/15) Central Mississippi Note: Orbital ATK produced the 10-foot diameter composite heat shield that provided a low-weight, high performance shield essential to protecting the first stage of the launch vehicle from engine exhaust temperatures over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The assembly was fabricated at Orbital ATK's Iuka, Miss., facility. It was the 57th Atlas V launch using Orbital ATK-built composite structures.