Thiokol bolsters Kosmotrasto Dnepr

The US Thiokol company, now part of Cordant Technologies, will help Ukrainian company Kosmotrasto market its Dnepr launcher.

The Dnepr rocket - a converted SS-18 missile - has completed its first commercial mission, carrying the UK's UoSat 12 satellite into low earth orbit from Baikonur on 21 April. Thiokol will aim its marketing efforts at new satellite systems, including the Teledesic and Skybridge projects.

"The first flight confirmed the accuracy of the converted missile," says Oren Phillips, Thiokol Propulsion's vice-president for business development. "The Dnepr's performance was right on target," he adds.

• A Russian Shtil missile will make a submarine launch for the German Aerospace Agency, carrying into orbit a satellite which will send images of the earth to the Expo 2000 exhibition in Hanover in the middle of next year.

Source: Flight International