SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced today that its engine helped propel NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) mission. The mission will allow astronomers to study extreme environments of the universe that generate significant amounts of gamma-ray radiation. Other objectives include the discovery of the mysteries behind powerful gamma-ray bursts, the composition of dark matter and a search for signs of new laws of physics.
Aerojet, under contract to United Launch Alliance, provided the Delta II rocket's second stage engine. This was Aerojet's 264th successful Delta II launch since 1960. Aerojet's second stage liquid rocket engine's unblemished success record owes its longevity to its robust design.
This same engine has also supported NASA's launches of such missions as Phoenix Mars Lander, Dawn, THEMIS, STEREO, Deep Impact, MESSENGER and the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) spacecraft, more commonly known as the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. This particular engine's launch history began in 1958 when Aerojet provided second stage propulsion for the Vanguard-1 mission. Over the years, the engine's performance has been improved so that today it has the power and reliability needed to assist in critical missions such as today's GLAST spacecraft launch.
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies' Web sites at http://www.aerojet.com/ and http://www.gencorp.com/.
