JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Aerojet was founded in 1942 on the dreams of a small group of scientists led by Dr. Theodore von Karman, an internationally acclaimed professor from the California Institute of Technology. The company's first product—Jet Assist Take Off (JATO) rocket motors—provided extra boosting power for U.S. military planes during World War II.

Dramatic growth in new products and technologies in the 1950s and 1960s led Aerojet to build what, at the time, was the free world's largest site for rocket engine development, testing, and production at a facility near Sacramento, Calif. Today, it serves as Aerojet's headquarters and site of missile and space propulsion operations.

The era of space exploration in the 1960s was a time of intense activity and excitement at Aerojet, with Aerojet engines propelling Gemini missions into space and Aerojet's Apollo Space Propulsion System placing astronauts in orbit around the moon and bringing them home again.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Aerojet emerged as an innovator in the field of space electronics. Aerojet and its subsidiary, Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, Inc. (AOT), also became leaders in the development of ordnance items such as specialized warheads, air-dispensed munitions systems, and medium- and large-caliber ammunition components. Combining these strengths, Aerojet developed "smart" weapons for use against tanks and other armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, Aerojet continued to design and build innovative and highly reliable propulsion systems such as the Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System engines, which have performed with a 100 percent success rate on every Shuttle flight.

Visit www.aerojet.com for the rest of the story.