Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) and Alliant Techsystems have announced that ATK will become the lead contractor for RpK's K-1 launch vehicle, which was recently awarded a Space Act Agreement by NASA for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The K-1 is a fully reusable space transportation system designed to provide cost-effective and reliable transport of cargo and science payloads to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
Under terms of the agreement, ATK will provide launch vehicle development, assembly, integration and test of the launch system, and will conduct launch and landing site development and launch vehicle preparation for the K-1. ATK will also develop and produce critical composite structures and subsystems for the pressurized and unpressurized K-1 cargo modules, and conduct vehicle recovery and refurbishment.
"ATK is a great partner with demonstrated experience and skills that strengthen our team," said Randy Brinkley, RpK President. "We look forward to the capabilities this partnership will contribute to the K-1 vehicle, and also the COTS program."
"We look forward to helping RpK develop this new launch capability," said Ron Dittemore, President, ATK Launch Systems Group. "A tenet of the Space Policy encourages entrepreneurial efforts to develop commercial access to space, and it is our intention to help RpK achieve this objective."
