14 DAY TRIAL // Officials from US aerospace and defense contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) announce that the rocket and manned spacecraft the company is building have just passed a critical NASA review. This is an important step towards ensuring the two entities continue their collaboration.
ATK is developing the Liberty rocket and a yet-unnamed space capsule, all under the auspices of an unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) signed with NASA. According to the current schedule, the first astronauts will fly to space aboard ATK vehicles as early as 2015.
The recent in-depth review certified that the aerospace contractor is on the right track towards meeting this ambitious objective. The capsule currently under development will be able to carry up to seven astronauts, just like the retired space shuttles.
The signed SAA ATK is part of the NASA Commercial Crew Development Program (CCDev-2), which seeks to encourage private companies in developing space vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station, and other destinations in low-Earth orbit, and beyond.
Analysts say that the latest review was the last in a series of five, stipulated by the terms of the SAA. At the meeting accompanying it, NASA and ATK experts discussed issues related to system requirements, the rocket's planned launch schedule, the flight test plans, software status and so on.
“It has been a privilege working with NASA to complete the SAA for the Commercial Crew program,” explained in a recent statement the vice president and manager of the Liberty project at ATK, expert Kent Rominger, as quoted by Space.
“The feedback we received from the NASA Liberty team has helped further the development of the entire system and we believe ensures the program is on target for Liberty to provide a capable and safe commercial transportation to the International Space Station by mid-decade,” he went on to say.
ATK is not alone in its effort to construct the Liberty delivery system; its experts are working with colleagues at Lockheed Martin and European aerospace company Astrium. The latter is involved with the construction of Europe's best rocket, the Ariane 5.
“Liberty's expanded service allows us to bring a commercial capability delivering up to seven crew members, 5,000 pounds of pressurized cargo, along with external cargo in a single flight,” Rominger explains.
“This results in tremendous value since all other commercial offerings would need two flights to accomplish what Liberty does in one,” he concludes.