Aerojet Celebrates 50
Years Of Satellite Launches
(19 March 2008) Aerojet, a GenCorp
company, announced today that March 17th marked a significant day in Aerojet's
history.
On March 17, 1958 the United States launched the
Vanguard-1 mission. This was the second U.S. satellite placed into orbit. The
tracking data from the small payload revealed that the shape of the Earth has a
north-south asymmetry. The payload was also used to determine upper atmospheric
densities as a function of altitude, latitude, season and solar activity. This
payload is still orbiting the Earth and is the oldest satellite in
space.
The significance to Aerojet is that the second stage was powered
by an Aerojet AJ10-118 engine, an early version of the AJ10-118K engine that
powered the Delta II mission that flew on March 15, 2008. While many new
engines have been developed at Aerojet over the years, this evolved engine has
an unmatched track record. "We are proud of our 50-year record as a launch
proven, rocket engine provider," said Aerojet President Scott
Neish.
Aerojet is a world-recognised aerospace and defence leader
principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defence and armaments
markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and
defence products and systems with a real estate segment that includes
activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's
excess real estate assets.
(source: Aerojet)
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