Space News by Sandra Erwin — October 10, 2017
The future of missiles and propulsion technology is about going “further and faster"
WASHINGTON — A new market for super high-speed weapons is fueling investments in rocket engine technologies as companies seek to gain an edge. The industry foresees a demand for advanced rocket engines, particularly if the U.S. military moves to acquire revolutionary missiles that fly at hypersonic speeds.
The Pentagon expects to invest $2 billion over the next five years in high-speed weapons including lasers and hypersonic missiles that travel at five times the speed of sound.
The future of missiles and propulsion technology is about going “further and faster,” Pat Nolan, vice president of Orbital ATK, told SpaceNews at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference.
Orbital ATK has a hot production line for rocket motors that power some of the military’s most widely used missiles like the Hellfire. This week it is scheduled to deliver the 100,000th rocket motor to Hellfire manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Orbital is now testing a new model that has less sensitive propellant and will comply with military requirements for safer, so-called insensitive munitions.
More:
http://spacenews.com/orbital-atk-eyes-investments-in-advanced-rocket-motors/
