SPACE DIVISION FOR SALE? BOEING MIGHT BE SEARCHING FOR ROCKETDYNE PURCHASER.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Defense giant Boeing Co. might sell off its Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power unit, the rocket engine builder whose rich history in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. includes putting men on the moon and the shuttle fleet into space, sources told the Daily News on Wednesday. Boeing has begun a quiet solicitation among the defense sector to see whether any companies are interested in the Canoga Park-based operations that could be worth about $600 million, the sources said. Boeing officials would not discuss whether Rocketdyne was being shopped. ``Typically, just as a matter of policy, we won't comment on any rumors or speculation about any merger or acquisition or any type of that activity,'' said John Dern, vice president of public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most for Chicago-based Boeing. An executive with an aerospace rival, who asked not to be identified, said, ``We're not surprised. We've heard some rumblings in the past several weeks that the unit is up for sale.'' Established in 1955 as part of North American Aviation North American Aviation was a major US aircraft manufacturer. The company was responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, and the X-15 rocket plane, as well as Apollo Inc., Rocketdyne today has about 3,200 employees in the San Fernando Valley area. In addition to Canoga Park, local operations include Chatsworth and Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
A year ago, company executives contemplated consolidating all the Valley operation in Chatsworth, said Bruce Ackerman Bruce Arnold Ackerman (born August 19, 1943) is a famous constitutional law scholar in the United States. He is a Sterling Professor at Yale Law School and one of the most frequently cited legal academics in the country. Biography Ackerman received his B. , president and chief executive officer of the Van Nuys-based Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. At that time the company pledged to keep the jobs in the Valley. ``That's our obvious concern. We'd want to do everything to keep those jobs here,'' Ackerman said. Boeing, one of the world's biggest aerospace companies, acquired Rocketdyne in 1996 when it bought Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. Corp. for $3.2 billion. Last year Boeing had sales of $50.5 billion. But little of that money was generated in aerospace development. With the space shuttle program on hiatus and future exploration limited to unmanned flight, there's little reason for Boeing to maintain ties to the sector. Boeing faces problems at its Santa Susana Field Laboratory, which once did nuclear reactor testing for the Department of Energy. A cleanup of that site has been under way for 15 years, begun after the Daily News disclosed in 1989 that the DOE had found contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. soil at the site. Recent tests have found radioactivity in some groundwater samples as well. Analyst Paul H. Nisbet at JSA JSA - Japanese Standards Association. Research Inc. in Newport, R.I., said selling the company would make sense if a buyer can be found. ``I can't imagine too many companies would be interested,'' he said. ``It's not a big business for Boeing. It's probably very low margin.'' One likely suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) might be GenCorp Inc., a Rancho Cordova-based company whose holdings include rocket maker Aerojet General. Officials at those companies could not be reached for comment. Most recently, Rocketdyne developed the Linear Aerospike engine, which demonstrates key technologies and lower operating costs needed for the next generation of reusable launch vehicles. The company is also producing and testing the Divert and Attitude Control System for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is a United States Army project to develop a system to shoot down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles over a theater or region by ramming them with interceptor missiles. Program. The system is supposed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles and their warheads in flight. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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