UPGRADED ATLAS V BOOSTER PASSES FIRING SOLID ROCKET WILL HAVE MORE POWER.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. and Aerojet announced Wednesday they have successfully conducted the second test firing of an upgraded Atlas V solid rocket booster Solid rocket boosters (SRB) (or motors, SRM) are used to provide the main thrust in spacecraft launches from the launchpad up to burnout of the SRBs. Many launch vehicles include SRBs, including the Ariane 5, Atlas V, and the NASA Space Shuttle. motor. The test, the second in a planned series of three, was conducted on May 24 at the Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate, commonly known as the rocket lab. The tests are evaluating design changes made to make the 67-foot-long rocket motor more robust. The motor was fired for about 90 seconds and produced an average thrust of over 250,000 pounds, according to a joint statement issued by the companies. ``We are very pleased with the results of the development effort and look forward to flying this upgraded design,'' said Aerojet President Michael Martin. ``We are also very pleased with the collaborative working relationships we have with Lockheed Martin, AFRL Noun 1. AFRL - a United States Air Force defense laboratory responsible for discovering and developing and integrating fighting technologies for aerospace forces Air Force Research Laboratory U. S. and the government customer.'' The first test was conducted April 1. Aerojet's Block B solid rocket booster is aimed at improving reliability and performance for Lockheed Martin's Atlas V rocket. The Block A motor, also produced by Aerojet for Lockheed Martin, has flown on three Atlas V launches This article is about the Atlas V rocket. For information on the Atlas V rocket as a whole, see Atlas V. Atlas V launch Past launches List Date: March 2007 Date Type Serial-no. for Lockheed Martin. ``The Block B design has clearly demonstrated superior thermal performance and we are very pleased with the test results,'' said Jim Sponnick, vice president of the Atlas Program at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 4 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. From a rich history of major companies Lockheed Martin has brought them together to offer design, integration, and production of: The test effort marks the inaugural use of a new horizontal test stand built in a collaborative effort by Aerojet, Lockheed Martin and the Air Force. The test stand can accommodate rockets of up to 1 million pounds of thrust and is equipped with a 15-ton traveling crane. Test-stand construction began last year and was completed in February. Aerojet builds Atlas V motors for Lockheed Martin. The Atlas V family of motors is being developed under the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program was a United States government, primarily a Department of Defense–sponsored effort to develop at least one family of space launch vehicles, that would meet the long term needs of the military and fulfill commercial program, and is intended to replace the Delta, Atlas and Titan rocket motor families. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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