Salt Lake City: Livability in the 21st Century

Expanding on its propulsion expertise, the company
developed a method to produce lightweight rocket motor
cases. The technique involved a combination of filaments
and resins to produce composite case structures that were
stronger yet lighter than steel. In the launch business, where
the correlation between weight and cost is high, a real weight
advantage was key. This pioneering work on lightweight
structures progressed several generations—from fiberglass,
to Kevlar, to complex carbon-composite materials.
Concurrently, the allure of the burgeoning space satellite
business drew intense interest from the company’s research
and development arm. Expertise in fabricating lightweight
composite structures for deep space applications was developed
in an effort to grow into an adjacent market with great
potential. Notable contracts included optical support structures
for Hubble Space Telescope and numerous earth-orbiting
satellites serving government and commercial customers.
ATK, a young defense company with roots to Honeywell
Corporation, acquired Hercules Aerospace Company in
1995. The acquisition positioned ATK as an up-and-coming
player in the aerospace and defense industry.
As part of an aggressive growth strategy, ATK made a
second landmark acquisition in 2001, looking ninety miles
north to Brigham City-based Thiokol Corporation, maker
of the space shuttle solid rocket boosters. The bold undertaking
added human space launch capability to the
company’s growing portfolio, making ATK the undisputed
world leader in solid rocket propulsion systems. A series
of other acquisitions and key contract wins have continued
to increase the company’s presence in the aerospace, defense
and sporting markets, which includes ammunition, firearms
and accessories.
ATK has produced and launched more than 2,300 commercial
solid rocket motors to date for a wide variety of
launch vehicles. Partnered with prime contractors including
Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences and United Launch
Alliance, ATK’s solid rocket motors are used on Athena,
Pegasus ® , Taurus ® , Minotaur, and Antares launch vehicles
and as strap-on boosters for the Delta II and Delta IV family
of launch vehicles. Of particular note is ATK’s CASTOR ® 30,
developed in response to a market need for a high-performance,
upper-stage motor.
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Above: ATK is producing lightweight composite fuselage stringers and frames
for the Airbus A350 XWB program at the company’s Aircraft Commercial
Center of Excellence (ACCE) manufacturing facility just north of Salt Lake
City. The twin-engine jetliner is designed to offer up to twenty-five percent
greater fuel efficiency over current commercial airplanes.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF AIRBUS.
Left: ATK’s newest rocket motor from the CASTOR ® 30 family marks the
company’s entry point into commercial deliveries to the International Space
Station. The CASTOR 30 family of motors is established on a legacy of
innovation and reliability that are part of the company’s fifty-year heritage in
solid rocket systems.
Below: The next-generation military stealth fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning II,
takes to the skies in flight testing. Automated fiber placement technology,
pioneered by ATK in the early 1980s, provides for lightweight, composite
aircraft components with complex contours to be manufactured.
The fifth-generation multirole fighter is being developed for the
U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and allied nations.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LOCKHEED MARTIN.
B U I L D I N G A G R E A T E R S A L T L A K E C I T Y
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