SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 17, 2012 – Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, and Daicel, a Japanese defense corporation, marked 50 years of partnership today with the planting of a cherry blossom tree at Aerojet’s headquarters in Sacramento.
Aerojet first teamed with Daicel in 1962 on a technology transfer and a licensing agreement for Aeroplex, a styrene-based propellant used in Aerojet’s Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) rockets. JATO rockets led to increased pilot safety by enabling heavily laden aircraft to take off from short runways and carrier decks.
“As a Japanese symbol of good luck and representation of life and vitality, the cherry blossom we plant today is a reminder of the friendship and partnership between our two companies,” said Aerojet Vice President of Missile Defense & Strategic Systems, Michael Bright. “Today, we honor our past, commemorate the present and look forward to a bright future with Japan.”
Throughout the past 50 years, Aerojet and Daicel have teamed on a variety of technology transfer programs, including HAWK, NIKE warhead, AIM-73 Sparrow rocket motor, MAXPAC ejection seat thrusters and PAC-3 attitude control motors. Along with defense work, Aerojet’s history with Japan also encompasses many successes with space exploration initiatives, including providing propulsion for Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle that resupplies the International Space Station.
Aerojet will further highlight milestones as well as host an event honoring the company’s partnership with Japan and several of its leading aerospace companies at the Japan Aerospace 2012 exhibition being held in Nagoya, Japan from Oct. 9-12.
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader providing propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense, strategic, tactical missile and armaments areas in support of domestic and international markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense 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. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies’ websites at www.Aerojet.com and at www.GenCorp.com.
