Today, Aerojet is an "over $500 million company", headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., that employs over 2,800 people in nine locations, who develop and manufacture world-class propulsion technologies for the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets. Our growth in recent years includes the acquisition of General Dynamics Space Systems in Redmond, Wash. and Atlantic Research Corporation of Gainesville, Va. Aerojet is one of GenCorp's family of companies, which also includes Aerojet Fine Chemicals and GenCorp Realty Investments.

History

Aerojet was founded in 1942 on the dreams of a small group of scientists led by Dr. Theodore von Karman, an internationally acclaimed professor from the California Institute of Technology. The company's first product—Jet Assist Take Off (JATO) rocket motors—provided extra boosting power for U.S. military planes during World War II. Learn more.

Dramatic growth in new products and technologies in the 1950s and 1960s led Aerojet to build what, at the time, was the free world's largest site for rocket engine development, testing, and production at a facility near Sacramento, Calif. Today, it serves as Aerojet's headquarters and site of missile and space propulsion operations.

The era of space exploration in the 1960s was a time of intense activity and excitement at Aerojet, with Aerojet engines propelling Gemini missions into space and Aerojet's Apollo Space Propulsion System placing astronauts in orbit around the moon and bringing them home again.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Aerojet emerged as an innovator in the field of space electronics, including satellite sensors for weather forecasting and missile detection. Aerojet also became a leader in the development of ordnance such as specialized warheads, air-dispensed munitions systems, and medium-caliber ammunition. Combining these strengths, Aerojet developed "smart" weapons for use against tanks and other armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, Aerojet continued to design and build innovative and highly reliable propulsion systems such as the Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System engines, which have performed with a 100 percent success rate on every Shuttle flight.

After divesting its space electronics division in 2001, Aerojet embarked on a strategy to become a market leader in the development of diversified propulsion systems, culminating in the acquisition of General Dynamics Space Systems in Redmond, Wash—a leading developer and manufacturer of spacecraft propulsion, electric propulsion, fire suppression technologies, and Missile Defense applications; and Atlantic Research Corporation of Gainesville, Va—a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced solid rocket propulsion systems, gas generators and auxiliary rocket motors for both space and defense applications.

The acquisitions were strategic fits for Aerojet, enabling it to combine the strength, technology and capabilities of three businesses, and turn them into one company with a common vision and strategy, drawing on the widest range of propulsion disciplines ever assembled. The aerospace company that was founded in southern California now has manufacturing sites across the country—in Washington, California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia—and continues its role as a leader in the U.S. propulsion industry.

Today's Aerojet boasts in-space propulsion on every NASA Discovery mission, a significant role in the nation's missile defense program and strong holds in the tactical defense propulsion and launch-vehicle propulsion markets.

Aerojet is long recognized for its decades of experience supplying liquid engines for the workhorse U.S. launch vehicles Titan and Delta, and it now has a significant market in tactical missile propulsion and a successful air-breathing propulsion program.

As Aerojet continues to use innovative solutions for producing a wide range of propulsion and armament systems, it never loses sight of its most important mission: Developing technologies and products that help its customers meet their ever-changing objectives.