PROMONTORY, Utah (AP) - A leading Utah aerospace company plans to test 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, will test the GEM-60 rocket motor at its Promontory facility Thursday morning.
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.
The test is being conducted, in part, to assess a new nozzle built to withstand extreme heat exceeding 1,000 degrees.
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