Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc . , commonly abbreviated ATK , is an aerospace , defense , and commercial products company with its headquarters in Arlington , Virginia , in the United States . The company operates in 21 states , Puerto Rico , and internationally , and had fiscal year 2013 revenues of approx . The company was previously headquartered in Minneapolis , Minnesota . History . ATK was formed in 1990 as a subsidiary of Honeywell Inc . as part of Honeywell ' s plan to exit the defense industry . Under the plan , Honeywell ' s defense businesses were transferred to ATK which was then spun off to Honeywell stockholders as a separate company . In 1995 ATK entered the aerospace market with the acquisition of Hercules Inc . Aerospace division . Since then ATK has become a supplier of aerospace and defense products to the U . S . government and its allies , and to their contractors . ATK is also a supplier of ammunition and related accessories to law enforcement agencies and commercial customers . In 2001 , ATK acquired Thiokol , renaming it to ATK Launch Systems in 2006 ( though it ' s still known within the industry by its original name ) . Thiokol was the sole manufacturer of the reusable Solid Rocket Motor used to launch the NASA Space Shuttle , which will be adapted to the Space Launch System . It also produces other solid - fuel propulsion systems , including the Star 48 upper stage . In addition , ATK manufactures the booster separation systems that release the motors away from the Shuttle orbiter and the main liquid fuel tank . Nearly every NASA planetary probe has used some form of propulsion from one of the company ' s divisions , and ATK also participated in the X - 43A project . The company also produces the propulsion system used in the Trident D5 nuclear missile . Alliant Techsystems and Humbert CTTS SAS were awarded an approximately contract to provide Speer 9mm GoldDot ammunition to the French Gendarmerie , French Customs , French Corrections and all 250 , 000 police officers in France . ATK expanded its workforce during the United States ammunition shortage . Acquisitions and mergers . Since 2000 ATK has grown as a result of both internal expansion and a series of acquisitions , including Thiokol propulsion , the ordnance business of Boeing and CCI / Speer , an ammunition manufacturer , and Federal Ammunition . In 2003 ATK purchased the General Applied Science Laboratory ( GASL ) . Major government contracts . On March 12 , 2012 , ATK announced that it was awarded an Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity ( IDIQ ) agreement from the United States Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) and U . S . Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) for . 40 caliber ammunition . This contract has a base of 12 months , includes four option years , and will have a maximum volume of 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets . Business units . ATK Aerospace . In November 2010 , ATK was selected by NASA for consideration for potential contract awards for heavy lift launch vehicle system concepts , and propulsion technologies . , ATK had proposed a new launch vehicle to NASA in the third round of the Commercial Crew Development ( CCiCap ) program , and proposed to launch the Liberty rocket – a commercial rocket and spacecraft designed to carry astronauts – on its first manned mission in 2015 . Liberty was not selected when the proposal awards were announced in August 2012 . ATK Defense . ATK Defense comprises five business divisions .