New Orbital ATK, AF agreement

DULLES, Va. - Orbital ATK, a global aerospace and defense technologies company, has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). The agreement provides the framework and plan for data exchanges needed to certify Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launch (NGL) system to carry National Security Space missions. “Under this CRADA, Orbital ATK is better able to support SMC in being the guardians of assured access to space,” said Scott Lehr, president of Orbital ATK’s Flight Systems Group. Orbital ATK is in early production of development hardware for NGL. To date, the firm, along with the Air Force, has invested more than $200M toward development of the NGL rocket family. (Source: Orbital ATK 01/04/18) Central Mississippi Note: Orbital ATK’s Iuka, Miss., facility produces large composite structures for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. The company announced plans to begin production on the new composite launch vehicle structures and aerospace components in the third quarter of 2017.