ATK has designed a new Large Class (92-inch diameter) rocket motor that is designed to ignite at altitudes in excess of 85,000 feet. The motor has been successfully tested in the Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Tennessee and uses emerging technologies from other Air Force developmental programs.

The rocket motor contract is managed out of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Hill Air Force Base. The Propulsion Application Program and Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology programs helped contribute to the development of the new ATK motor. The motor could support various missions such as Conventional Strike Missile and Operationally Responsive Space.

This latest motor follows the maturation of Air Force technologies in Large Class Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) and Family of Motors (FOM) capabilities that are applicable to future propulsion systems.

The ability to assemble an array of existing rocket motors that can later be combined with next-gen technology to address future mission requirements can provide updated propulsion systems at a fraction of the cost for developing brand new ones.

The development of Large Class Stage III technology is conducted under the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Demonstration/Validation Propulsion Applications Program.

Testing was completed in a vacuum chamber designed to simulate upper atmospheric conditions. Preliminary data matched performance predictions.

Scott Lehr, the Vice President and General Manager of Strategic and Commercial Systems for ATK Aerospace Systems, says, "The successful motor firing was an important milestone for the US Air Force's Large Class Stage III program. This Stage III motor demonstrates additional performance beyond ATK's baseline CASTOR 30 motor, using state-of-the-art solid propulsion technologies. The results of this test are important and will apply directly to the development of next-generation systems.”