NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

For release: 06/07/04
Release #: 04-161

Test of a safer propellant design for Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor forward segment set for Thursday in Utah

What: NASA's Space Shuttle program will test a full-scale Reusable Solid Rocket Motor at a Utah test facility. The static firing will test more than 76 different objectives, including a modification that slightly changes the shape of the propellant in the forward segment of the motor to increase the propellant's strength.

The strength of the new design improves flight safety by decreasing the risk of damage to the propellant during storage and transportation, said Jody Singer, project manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project, part of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office, located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Results from the test will be used to qualify the modification for production and flight.

When: Thursday, June 10, at 1:00 p.m. MDT

Where: T-97 bay, facilities of ATK Thiokol Inc., an Alliant Techsystems Inc., company, Promontory, Utah

To attend: A special viewing area will be provided for the news media. To attend the firing, media representatives must register with Melodie deGuibert of Thiokol by telephoning (435) 863-3169 no later than 1 p.m. MDT Wednesday, June 9.

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