Alaska Aerospace Corporation has selected Lockheed Martin's Athena rocket as its launch vehicle of choice for small and medium lift missions from the Kodiak Launch Complex, or KLC. Lockheed Martin and Alaska Aerospace will work together to define and implement rocket and launch pad upgrades to support a wider range of government and commercial payloads on an Athena vehicle launched from KLC. A contract award from Alaska Aerospace to Lockheed Martin is expected once plans are completed.

The upgraded Athena IIS will support payloads from 1,900 to 3,000 kilograms, or about 4,200 to 6,600 lbs.