Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 9, 2010 – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Aerojet has joined the Federation. With over 3,000 employees nationwide including locations in California, Arkansas, Washington State, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah and Tennessee, the company is a leading provider of aerospace propulsion systems.
Julie Van Kleeck, Aerojet’s Vice President for Space Programs, stated, “Aerojet welcomes the opportunity to join the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Joining CSF will enable Aerojet to work better with industry to serve NASA’s exploration programs and the expanding commercial space market.”
Van Kleeck continued, “Aerojet propulsion systems have flown on every U.S. human spaceflight mission. We are actively engaged in developing propulsion to power the next generation of human spaceflight systems – both launch vehicles and spacecraft. We’re proud of our work on Orion, EELV and a number of new commercial systems such as Taurus II and Sundancer. We are building on Aerojet’s proven capabilities in rocket engine and spacecraft propulsion development, human-rating, propulsion system verification, and operations to power the next generation of U.S. human space flight capabilities.”
Van Kleeck added, “Aerojet believes that affordability and innovation are key to the future of human space flight – and competition is fundamental to both. Aerojet’s membership in CSF will provide new opportunities to support NASA’s efforts to use safe, affordable and innovative commercial systems to transport crew to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) while NASA also continues to reach beyond LEO. We believe that NASA’s plans for new investments in propulsion systems are vital to spurring innovation, driving down cost and fostering both LEO access and human exploration beyond LEO.”
John Schumacher, Aerojet’s Vice President for Washington Operations, added, “Aerojet is at work to field new technologies for both launch and in-space propulsion that foster a new era of affordable, sustainable missions. CSF membership offers unique opportunities to work with other member companies to advance these efforts.”
Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Aerojet. Their expertise in propulsion technology is widely known and it’s a privilege to have them join the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.”
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “It is great to see the aerospace industry continue to unite behind a common goal of expanding our nation’s commercial space economy. Creating thousands of new high-tech jobs, enhancing our nation’s access to space, and exciting a new generation of young people to embark on science and technology careers are some of the benefits this growing industry aims to realize. The Federation is pleased to welcome the entire Aerojet team.”
About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202-349-1121.
About Aerojet
Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. (NYSE: GY) company, is a major space and defense contractor specializing in missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments. Since the company was founded in 1942, it has led the way in the development of crucial technology and products that have kept America strong and furthered human exploration of space. For more information on Aerojet, please visit www.aerojet.com.
