Our History

45 Years of Looking Forward

The Aerospace Corporation has been a technical partner in the development of our nation's space program since its inception. For the last 45 years, we've invested in the leading engineering and scientifice talent the space industry to ensure our military, reconnaissance and civil space customers develop the most effective, cost-efficient space technologies in the world.

Ivan Getting becomes the company's first president, 1960.

1960

 

• The Aerospace Corporation is established "to aid the United States Air Force in applying the full resources of modern science and technology to the problem of achieving those continuing advances in ballistic missiles and military space systems which are basic to national security." Dr. Ivan Getting becomes the company's first president; five research laboratories established: aerodynamics, propulsion, electronics, materials science, and space physics.

• Dyna-Soar one of earliest program offices.

• Aerospace supports Project Mercury, develops Pilot Safety Program, and “man-rates” the Atlas missile safe for human flight.

• NASA launches Mercury 1. This was an unoccupied test flight.
  

Aerospace begins planning for the Defense Departments Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program, 1962.

1962

 

• The USSR launches Vostok 1, which carries Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space, making him both the first ‘spaceman’ and the first human to orbit Earth.

• John H. Glenn becomes the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth in the Mercury Project spacecraft Friendship 7.

• First test flight of the Titan II missile, used as the launch vehicle for the Gemini program. Aerospace provides general systems engineering and technical direction for the Titan II.

• Aerospace begins support for Advanced Ballistic Reentry System (ABRES).

• Aerospace begins support for Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program (IDCSP), forerunner of MILSATCOM’s wideband segment.

1963

• Project 57 begins at The Aerospace Corporation. The study seeks to clarify areas where space systems could be used for military applications.

• Defense Secretary Robert McNamara cancels the Dyna-Soar program.

Gemini 3 lifts off, 1965, carrying two American astronauts into space.

1964

• Aerospace begins assisting the Air Force with planning for the proposed Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL).

• Aerospace begins support for the Defense Satellite Communications System Satellite (DSCS).

1965

• Gemini 3 carries two American astronauts into space.

1967

• Aerospace begins support for UK communications satellite system Skynet.

1968

• The USSR sends its Zond 5 lunar mission capsule around the Moon and back safely to Earth, a significant first.

• The first piloted mission of the Apollo Project, Apollo 7, is successful in testing hardware in Earth orbit.

• Launched with the new Saturn V rocket, Apollo 8 makes the first-ever manned lunar orbit, proving that NASA was ready to land a man on the Moon.

Apollo 11 lunar landing, 1969

1969

• President Richard Nixon cancels Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program.
  Apollo 11 mission achieves first lunar landing.

1970

• The first Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite is launched. Aerospace provided systems engineering and technical direction to the program from its beginnings in the 1960s.

1971

• The first launch of Titan IIID launch vehicle.

• The first two Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) II spacecraft are launched.

1972

• NASA begins development of the space shuttle. Aerospace performs advanced space program analysis and program studies for the project.

1973

• Aerospace establishes a program office to assist the Air Force in the creation of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Defense Department establishes a program based on the Global Positioning System concept, 1974.

1974

• The deputy secretary of defense suggests a program based on the GPS concept be established, marking the start of the conception-validation phase of the program.

1975

• Aerospace begins tests on airborne UHF terminals for the Air Force Satellite Communications System, AFSATCOM, which will provide the Air Force worldwide communications capabilities.

1976

• Aerospace establishes a program office to support the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).

1977

• Eberhardt Rechtin is selected to succeed Ivan Getting as the second president of The Aerospace Corporation.

1978

• The first Fleet Satellite Communications—FLTSATCOM—satellite is launched.
  The first GPS satellites are placed in orbit.

First flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, 1981

1981

• NASA conducts the first flight of the space shuttle Columbia, the world’s first reusable space vehicle.

1982

• Aerospace supports the first successful test flight of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS).

1983

• President Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Aerospace provides support to the program from the mid- to late-1980s.

• A Korean civilian airliner is shot down by Russian fighters after accidentally intruding into Soviet air space. To prevent any such tragedy from happening again, President Reagan declassifies NAVSTAR; GPS becomes available to civilians.

Navstar is declassified; GPS becomes available to civilian users, 1983.

1985

• Aerospace participates in the successful testing of the antisatellite (ASAT).

• The Air Force Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC) ground-control facility opens in Colorado Springs. Aerospace played an important role in the development of the center.

1986

• The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing its crew of seven. The Shuttle Program goes into hiatus as the cause of the accident is investigated.

1987

• Sam Tennant succeeds Eberhardt Rechtin as Aerospace president.

1988

• The first space launch of a Titan II from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Aerospace provided systems engineering and integration for the family of converted launch vehicles.

1989

• Titan IV and Delta II launched.

• The first operational GPS Block II satellites are deployed.

First operational GPS satellite is deployed, 1989.

1990

• NAVSTAR GPS becomes operational.

• Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

1991

• The first launch of the Atlas II launch vehicle.

1992

• Pete Aldridge is selected to succeed Sam Tennant as the new president of Aerospace.

• A member of the GPS team, The Aerospace Corporation shares the nation’s highest award for aeronautical achievement, the Collier Trophy.

1993

• Aerospace opens the Washington Corporate Office in Arlington, Virginia.

1994

• The Federal Aviation Administration announces that GPS is operational and integrated as a part of the U.S. air traffic control system.

• The Air Force announces the completion of the 24 Block II GPS satellite constellation.

• The Department of Defense adopts the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) concept for the next generation of launch vehicles. The Aerospace Corporation participated in the planning and helped develop system requirements.

• Aerospace plays significant role in the launch of the first Milstar 1 satellite.

• Aerospace begins assisting the Department of Defense with the transition from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) to the National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)

First Milstar satellite is launched, 1994.

1995

• Aerospace begins conducting independent assessments for the International Space Station.

1997

• The Milstar satellite system is declared operational.

• NASA launches the Cassini spacecraft on a 7-year journey to explore the moons of Saturn. Aerospace provided technical support during various phases of the program.

1998

• Aerospace is involved in both High and Low components of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite constellation to meet U.S. surveillance needs.

• The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies is established to track space debris and investigate reentry breakup characteristics of satellites and rocket states.

• George Paulikas, Aerospace executive vice president, receives the NRO’s highest award, the Gold Medallion Award, for "exceptional service to the National Reconnaissance Office.”

2000

• William F. Ballhaus, Jr. succeeds Pete Aldridge as Aerospace president.

2001

• Aerospace supports planning for Space Radar, which will provide global persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to the Department of Defense.

2002

• The Atlas V and Delta IV evolved expendable launch vehicles (EELVs) are successfully launched. Aerospace helped design the model for the Delta IV rocket’s solid-fuel engines.

• Aerospace plays an integral role in developing the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) program to succeed Milstar, and supports development of a transformational communications architecture.

2003

• Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart during reentry. Aerospace plays an important role in analyzing the Columbia debris to help determine the cause of the accident.

• Bradford Parkinson, chairperson of the Aerospace board of trustees, shares the Charles Stark Draper Prize with Ivan Getting, the company’s first president, for their contributions to the development of GPS.

• Ivan Getting, first president of Aerospace, dies at his home in Coronado, California.

Delta IV evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) is launched, 2005.

2004

• The Cassini spacecraft inserted into near-perfect orbit around Saturn. Aerospace provided technical support during various phases of the program.

• The successful demonstration launch of the evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) Delta IV Heavy.

• Drs. Ivan Getting and Brad Parkinson are awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize by the National Academy of Engineering and are inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

2005

• Aerospace support the Air Force Affordable Responsive Spacelift (ARES) launch system demonstration program to create a transformational spacelift capability for a wide range of payloads.

• Launches begin using the Delta IV launch vehicle

2006

• The first launch for the Wideband Gapfiller System (WGS), which will augment the communications capabilities of the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) to provide communications between command posts and the battlefield.

2007

• The first launch for the next-generation Block IIF Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.

2008

• The first launch of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High, a constellation of high- and low-altitude satellites with a consolidated, common ground system built to meet U.S. surveillance needs for the next 20 to 30 years.

• First launch of the Advance Extremely High Frequency satellite program, which will provide worldwide, secure, survivable satellite communications and advanced services across a broad range of mission areas.

2009

• The first launch for the National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), which will combine civil and military polar weather satellite programs POES and DMSP into a single program.

2012

• The first launch of the GPS III satellites, the fifth generation of Navstar satellites.

• The initial launch for Transformational Communications, which will provide unprecedented satellite communications with Internet-like capability at 100 times the capacity of the Wideband Gapfiller System.