ATK Awarded Contract to Provide UltraFlex Solar Arrays for Upcoming Mars InSight Mission

UltraFlex Solar Arrays Will Provide All Electrical Power for InSight Lander

Array Passed Critical Design Review and is Now in Production

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Jun 24, 2014, 11:49 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) received a contract from Lockheed Martin Space Systems to provide the UltraFlex solar arrays for NASA's InSight Lander mission, which will place a lander on Mars in 2016 to study the red planet's deep interior. The mission will give us a better understanding of the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system, including Earth, more than four billion years ago.

This artist's concept depicts the InSight Mars lander at work studying the interior of Mars, powered by ATK's UltraFlex arrays. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (PRNewsFoto/ATK)

"UltraFlex is known for the unique round fan-fold design that enables much higher performance than typical spacecraft solar arrays," said David Shanahan, vice president and general manager of ATK's Space Components division. "With spacecraft facing increasingly ambitious low-mass and constrained packaging requirements, ATK's arrays deliver all the power our customers need with this enabling technology."

The UltraFlex design successfully passed critical design review in February 2014. ATK is now fabricating the InSight arrays for testing later this year and delivery in 2015.

The design is based on the array that powered the successful Mars Phoenix Lander in 2008. Similar versions of the UltraFlex design are being used for Orbital Science's Commercial Resupply System (CRS) spacecraft; the first of many CRS UltraFlex arrays are planned to be flown later this year on CRS.

A larger, higher-power evolution of UltraFlex, called MegaFlex, has recently completed development testing at NASA's Plum Brook Station. MegaFlex was designed for high-power spacecraft such as those using future solar electric propulsion systems being developed by NASA for deep space exploration missions, including the Asteroid Redirect Mission.

InSight, an abbreviation for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will use sophisticated geophysical instruments to delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet's "vital signs" – its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe) and "reflexes" (precision tracking).

InSight is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin will build and operate the spacecraft.

ATK is an aerospace, defense and commercial products company with operations in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atk, or on Twitter @ATK.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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