Lockheed Martin Corp. and Alliant Techsystems have made a strategic agreement to provide launch services using upgraded Athena rockets.
The program will be based in Colorado. Work will be split between Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Canyon facility and Alliant’s facility in Utah.
Current Lockheed and Alliant employees will be shifted to the program, with 70 to 100 involved.
By working with Alliant, “we can do this without a ‘standing army’ of employees,” Al Simpson, Lockheed’s Athena program manager, said Thursday. “This will help sustain our business and give the cost reductions our customers are looking for.”
Lockheed Martin developed Athena in the 1990s. The rocket took NASA’s Lunar Prospector aloft in late 1998.
Lockheed Martin will provide mission management, payload integration and launch operations, and Alliant will provide the motors, integration and support.
Athena is designed to launch small payloads. Potential customers include NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and private companies.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
