ATK Thiokol, Inc. v. United States

BRYSON, Circuit Judge.

I

ATK Thiokol, Inc., manufactures rocket motors for government and commercial buyers. One of its products is the Castor family of solid rocket motors, which are “strap-on” motors designed to attach to a launch vehicle and provide additional thrust. In the 1990s, ATK began developing the Castor IVA-XL rocket. In 1995, ATK announced that it was closing the Huntsville, Alabama, plant where it had previously built the Castor IVA-XL motor. At that time, ATK analyzed each of the products made by the Huntsville plant as part of a corporate restructuring effort. ATK determined…