PROMONTORY, Utah (AP) - A leading Utah aerospace company has performed a successful test on a solid rocket motor at its desert facility.
ATK, which has produced rockets for NASA's now shuttered space shuttle program and numerous other agencies, tested the GEM-60 rocket motor at its Promontory facility Thursday morning.
The stationary test was conducted, in part, to assess a new nozzle built to withstand extreme heat exceeding several thousand degrees.
ATK officials say the test of the 53-foot-long motor was a success as it produced about 270,000 pounds of thrust and burned for 90 seconds.
The motors have been used previously to launch Delta IV rockets into orbit carrying everything from top-secret government satellites to global positioning devices and weather monitors for the Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others.
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