This appendix provides a consolidated reference for every significant corporate transaction in the American solid rocket motor industry from 1912 to the present. Events are organized by current inheritor, then chronologically.
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) Heritage
NGIS contains the merged heritage of Thiokol, Hercules, UTC Chemical Systems Division, and Orbital Sciences.
Thiokol / Cordant / ATK Lineage
| 1929 |
Founded |
— |
Thiokol Chemical Corporation |
— |
| 1982 |
Acquisition |
Morton International |
Morton Thiokol, Inc. |
~$200M |
| 1989 |
Spinoff |
Morton Thiokol |
Thiokol Corporation (independent) |
— |
| 1996 |
Acquisition |
United Technologies (CSD) |
Thiokol Corporation / Cordant |
not disclosed |
| 1998 |
Rename |
Thiokol Corporation |
Cordant Technologies |
— |
| 2000 |
Merger |
Cordant Technologies + Alcoa divisions |
AIC Group (Alcoa Industrial Components) |
— |
| 2001 |
Acquisition of propulsion assets |
AIC Group / Alcoa |
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) |
$2.9B |
Hercules Lineage
| 1912 |
Federal antitrust divestiture |
DuPont (ordered by court) |
Hercules Powder Company |
— |
| 1966 |
Rename |
Hercules Powder Company |
Hercules, Inc. |
— |
| 1978 |
Division created |
Hercules, Inc. |
Hercules Aerospace Company (division) |
— |
| 1995 |
Acquisition of aerospace division |
Hercules, Inc. |
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) |
~$450M |
UTC Chemical Systems Division Lineage
| 1960s |
Founded as division |
United Technologies Corp. |
Chemical Systems Division (CSD), Sunnyvale CA |
— |
| 1996 |
Acquisition |
United Technologies Corp. |
Thiokol Corporation / Cordant Technologies |
not disclosed |
Orbital Sciences Lineage
| 1982 |
Founded |
— |
Orbital Sciences Corporation |
— |
| 1990 |
Honeywell spinoff |
Honeywell Inc. |
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) |
— |
| 2001 |
Blount ammunition acquisition |
Blount International |
ATK (Sporting Group) |
~$200M |
| 2015 |
Merger |
ATK Aerospace + Orbital Sciences Corporation |
Orbital ATK |
— |
| 2015 |
Spinoff |
ATK |
Vista Outdoor (Sporting Group) |
— |
| 2018 |
Acquisition |
Orbital ATK |
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems |
$7.8B |
L3Harris / Aerojet Rocketdyne Heritage
Aerojet Rocketdyne contains the merged heritage of Aerojet, Atlantic Research Corporation, Olin/Primex/General Dynamics Space Systems, and Rocketdyne.
Aerojet Lineage
| 1942 |
Founded |
GALCIT alumni + General Tire investment |
Aerojet Engineering Corporation |
— |
| 1942 |
Major investment |
General Tire & Rubber Company |
Aerojet (majority shareholder) |
— |
| 1984 |
Rename / restructure |
General Tire & Rubber Company |
GenCorp, Inc. (holding company) |
— |
| 2002 |
Acquisition |
General Dynamics (Space Propulsion business, ex-Olin/Primex) |
Aerojet |
not disclosed |
| 2003 |
Acquisition |
Atlantic Research Corporation |
Aerojet |
not disclosed |
| 2013 |
Acquisition |
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (United Technologies) |
GenCorp / Aerojet |
$550M |
| 2013 |
Merger |
Aerojet + Rocketdyne |
Aerojet Rocketdyne |
— |
| 2015 |
Rename |
GenCorp, Inc. |
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. |
— |
| 2022 |
Blocked acquisition |
Lockheed Martin attempted to acquire Aerojet RD |
FTC blocked 4-0; Lockheed withdrew |
$4.4B |
| 2023 |
Acquisition |
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings |
L3Harris Technologies |
$4.7B |
Atlantic Research Corporation (ARC) Lineage
| 1950 |
Founded |
— |
Atlantic Research Corporation, Alexandria VA |
— |
| 1994 |
Acquisition |
ARC |
Sequa Corporation |
not disclosed |
| 2003 |
Acquisition |
Sequa Corporation (ARC) |
Aerojet |
not disclosed |
Olin / Primex / General Dynamics Space Systems Lineage
| ~1960s |
Founded |
— |
Rocket Research Corporation, Redmond WA |
— |
| ~1985 |
Acquisition |
Olin Corporation |
Olin Aerospace Company (formerly Rocket Research) |
— |
| 1996 |
Acquisition |
Olin Corporation |
Primex Technologies |
not disclosed |
| 2001 |
Acquisition |
Primex Technologies |
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems |
not disclosed |
| 2002 |
Acquisition of Space Propulsion business |
General Dynamics |
Aerojet |
not disclosed |
Rocketdyne Lineage
| 1955 |
Rocketdyne Division established |
North American Aviation |
Rocketdyne Division |
— |
| 1967 |
Merger |
North American Aviation + Rockwell-Standard |
North American Rockwell / Rockwell International |
— |
| 1996 |
Acquisition |
Rockwell International (Rocketdyne Division) |
Boeing Company |
— |
| 2005 |
Acquisition |
Boeing (Rocketdyne) |
United Technologies / Pratt & Whitney |
$700M |
| 2013 |
Acquisition |
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne |
GenCorp / Aerojet |
$550M |
Regulatory and Antitrust Events
| 1912 |
United States v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours (Sherman Act) |
DOJ vs. DuPont |
DuPont ordered to divest; created Hercules Powder Co. and Atlas Powder Co. |
| 2018 |
FTC review: Northrop Grumman / Orbital ATK |
FTC, Northrop, Orbital ATK |
Approved with behavioral remedy: Northrop required to supply SRMs to competitors on non-discriminatory basis |
| 2022 |
FTC vs. Lockheed Martin / Aerojet Rocketdyne |
FTC, Lockheed, Aerojet RD |
Blocked 4-0; Lockheed withdrew February 2022 |
| 2023 |
FTC review: L3Harris / Aerojet Rocketdyne |
FTC, L3Harris, Aerojet RD |
Approved; L3Harris not a vertical integration concern |
Key Facilities: Current Status
| Promontory |
Box Elder County, UT |
Thiokol Chemical (1957) |
Northrop Grumman |
1957 |
| Bacchus Works |
Magna, UT |
Hercules Powder (1913) |
Northrop Grumman |
1913 |
| Elkton, MD |
Cecil County, MD |
Thiokol Chemical (1951) |
Northrop Grumman |
1951 |
| Sacramento Complex |
Rancho Cordova, CA |
Aerojet (1950) |
L3Harris / Aerojet RD (reduced) |
1950 |
| Camden, AR |
Ouachita County, AR |
Aerojet / Atlantic Research |
L3Harris / Aerojet RD |
1960s |
Program-to-Producer Reference
| Minuteman III |
Stage 1 |
Thiokol |
Northrop Grumman (sustainment) |
| Minuteman III |
Stage 2 |
Aerojet |
L3Harris / Aerojet RD (sustainment) |
| Minuteman III |
Stage 3 |
Hercules |
Northrop Grumman (sustainment) |
| Trident II D5 |
Stages 1–3 |
Hercules (primary), Thiokol |
Northrop Grumman |
| Space Shuttle SRB |
Single (4-segment) |
Morton Thiokol / Thiokol / ATK |
Program ended 2011 |
| SLS SRB |
Single (5-segment) |
ATK / Orbital ATK |
Northrop Grumman |
| Peacekeeper (MX) |
Stage 1 |
Thiokol |
Retired 2005 |
| Peacekeeper (MX) |
Stage 2 |
Aerojet |
Retired 2005 |
| Peacekeeper (MX) |
Stage 3 |
Hercules |
Retired 2005 |
| Peacekeeper (MX) |
Stage 4 |
Rocketdyne |
Retired 2005 |
| Pegasus XL |
Stages 1–3 |
Hercules / ATK |
Northrop Grumman (final flights) |
| LGM-35A Sentinel |
TBD |
— |
Northrop Grumman (prime) |