Press Release

Alion Protective Coating Used in First SpaceX Flight to International Space Station

By SpaceRef Editor
June 29, 2012
Filed under , ,

Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned, engineering, R&D, IT and operational solutions company, provided a protective coating to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Dragon capsule for its first flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Alion applied a conductive thermal control coating to the “Dragon Trunk,” the cargo portion of the Dragon spacecraft. Since shipping aerospace hardware to a stationary coatings facility can often be difficult, costly and time-consuming, Alion engineers developed a portable coatings application system that can be easily transported. Using this new system, Alion’s experts sprayed protective coatings onsite at SpaceX facilities.

“We are excited to support such an important test mission that could radically impact the way cargo is delivered to the International Space Station,” said Chris Amos, Alion Senior Vice President and Manager of the Technology Solutions Group. “Alion chemists pioneered the development of unique materials to protect aerospace components, and now our portable application system is a cost- and time-saving alternative to shipping components to our coatings lab. It’s a game-changing solution that can help make the entire launch preparation process more efficient.”

Alion has been developing and applying aerospace coatings on government and commercial satellites and spacecraft since the early days of the U.S.-Russia space race.

About Alion Science and Technology

Alion Science and Technology delivers advanced engineering and technology solutions to strengthen national defense, homeland security, energy generation and the environment. Building on 75 years of R&D experience, Alion combines engineering expertise with operational experience and unique technologies to bring insight to multiple business areas: Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering; Defense Operations; Modeling & Simulation; and Engineering Design & Integration. Based in McLean, Virginia, Alion employee-owners are located at major offices, customer sites and laboratories worldwide. For more information, visit Alion online at www.alionscience.com.

This press release contains information about management’s view of Alion’s future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risk factors and uncertainties discussed in documents periodically filed by Alion with the SEC. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Contact:
Alion Science and Technology
Peter J. Jacobs, 703-269-3473
pjacobs@alionscience.com

SpaceRef staff editor.