LOS ANGELES The aerospace company that built the solid rocket boosters for NASA's space shuttle fleet announced plans Tuesday to develop its own private launch system a spaceship and rocket to fly astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. The first manned flight could launch in about three years, company officials said.

Utah-based Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, announced the new project here at the first Spacecraft Technology Expo, where thousands of government and industry officials have gathered to discuss innovative new technologies and the future of human spaceflight.

ATK had already been working on a new private rocket, called Liberty, which it submitted as a contender in the second round of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program last year. Ultimately, the Liberty rocket was not selected to receive funding, but ATK continued development of the booster under an unfunded Space Act Agreement with NASA. As part of this arrangement, NASA shares its expertise in designing and testing the rocket but does not provide money for the project.

Now, ATK has unveiled plans for a complete launch system centered around the Liberty rocket. The design includes a space capsule to carry passengers to destinations in low-Earth orbit, such as the International Space Station, said Kent Rominger, vice president and program manager for Liberty.

"The goal is to provide a new launch capability for the nation," Rominger told SPACE.com. "The vehicle is designed to be very, very simple, and inherently more safe and reliable. We really believe the whole system is designed for success." [Photos: ATK's Liberty Rocket and Capsule]

Introducing the Liberty system

The spacecraft will be able to carry seven passengers, or various combinations of crew and cargo. ATK also hopes to provide launch services for U.S. government satellites eventually, Rominger said.

The composite crew module was built by ATK at its Iuka, Miss., facility as part of an earlier NASA program headed by the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. from 2007 to 2010. The program aimed to assess whether composite materials were a viable alternative to aluminum lithium on NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is being built for future manned exploration flights to deep space.

"For Liberty, it made a huge amount of sense since composites were one of our competencies," Rominger said. "We wanted to pull in all the supplies and leverage all the work that has already gone into the system."

The look of the capsule will be similar to the Orion capsule, except it will only perform flights to and from low-Earth orbit. The capsule, which will land over water, will be reusable up to 10 times, Rominger said.

Read the original:

Liberty Rocket Targets 2015