Morton Thiokol Inc

Morton Thiokol Inc. test-fired its redesigned solid rocket motor with no apparent problems, but officials said it could be two weeks before they have all the results. The 122-second horizontal test, conducted at Morton Thiokol's Wasatch Operations plant west of Brigham City, Utah, was the fourth of five tests required to qualify major design features of the solid fuel booster before the shuttle program, grounded after the 1986 Challenger disaster, can resume.

A Superior Court jury has found that three aerospace companies were not responsible for the failure of a $45-million telecommunications satellite, deciding that three insurance firms are not entitled to get back the $5.6 million they paid to cover the loss. After a five-month trial, the panel decided Tuesday that McDonnell Douglas Corp., Morton Thiokol Inc.

NASA and Morton Thiokol Inc. engineers Tuesday completed modifications to ground-control circuitry, clearing the way for today's firing of the redesigned space shuttle booster rocket. The second full-scale test-firing of the 126-foot-long rocket was aborted Saturday one second before firing after a series of computer, mechanical and ignition-control problems had delayed it for 2 1/2 hours.

Morton Thiokol Inc. said Monday that it will split the company in two, separating the aerospace operations from its specialty chemicals, air bags and salt businesses, which will become an independent company. The aerospace business has been operating under a cloud ever since the shuttle Challenger exploded in January, 1986, soon after liftoff. The disaster was linked to problems with rocket boosters manufactured by Thiokol.

A redesigned rocket booster joint for the space shuttle is less reliable than the one that caused the Challenger explosion, Roger M. Boisjoly told the National Society of Professional Engineers in Denver. Boisjoly, who is now on long-term disability leave, was an engineer with Morton Thiokol Inc. and worked on the design of the rocket booster that failed. He and another engineer urged officials not to go forward with the Jan. 28, 1986, Challenger launch, but the launch was approved.

The final full-scale test-firing of Morton Thiokol Inc.'s redesigned space shuttle booster rocket has been scheduled for Thursday, a company official said Monday. The redesigned booster already has been successfully used on two shuttle launchings on Sept. 29 and Dec. 2. Five of six scheduled test-firings were required before the 126-foot-long solid-fuel rocket could be launched, and the fifth was conducted on Aug. 18, according to company spokesman Rocky Raab.

Launch pad crews worked through a checklist of final activities as NASA prepared to begin its first countdown in nearly three years for sending a manned spaceship into orbit. The preparations continued despite a report that was to be aired on CBS News' "West 57th" indicating that three safety engineers hired by Morton Thiokol Inc. to analyze the redesigned shuttle boosters found "potential catastrophic problems."

A federal judge dismissed two multibillion-dollar lawsuits filed against Morton Thiokol by former engineer Roger Boisjoly, who warned against the disastrous launch of the space shuttle Challenger, said Robert Levin, a lawyer for Boisjoly. Levin told a Salt Lake City television station that U.S. District Judge David K. Winder had dismissed the $3-billion suits with prejudice, so they cannot be refiled.

The FBI said Friday it is investigating apparent sabotage of O-rings destined for space shuttle booster rockets, a problem that a NASA official said may have been motivated by a company incentive program. The defects were detected before any damaged rings were sent to the rocket maker. A "very small number" of O-rings that appeared to have been deliberately cut were discovered in June by the manufacturer, HydraPak Inc.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has invited proposals from industry for a $1.2-billion project to design, develop and test the next generation of booster rockets for the space shuttle. Firms have 60 days to submit their proposals. The first of the new rockets are to be placed into service in 1994, to be phased in over a three-year period. The contract award is expected early next year.

NASA hopes to launch the space shuttle Discovery on the first post-Challenger flight about Sept. 25, Richard Kohrs, a top shuttle manager at the Johnson Space Center, said Monday. Engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Morton Thiokol Inc.