Aerojet Rocketdyne - Historic Rocket Engine Maker Sold for $4.4 Billion

Through the history of the US space program there have been 2 corporations which made most of the rocket engines for the boosters - Aerojet and Rocketdyne. Up until 10 years ago it was hard to find a space mission they hadn't provided hardware for. Nowadays it's hard to find a rocket booster which uses their engines.
Aerojet-Rocketdyne was created in 2013 out of a merger of these and over the weekend it was announced that Lockheed Martin is buying this historic company.
So I figured it'd be worth talking about these organizations and how important they've been to the space program in the past, and how they may be losing out in the booster market but still keep providing space hardware for other niches.
History of Aerojet Rocketdyne from their own site:
www.rocket.com/who-we-are/his...
Here's a list of US rocket engines with their manufacturers:
www.b14643.de/Spacerockets/Spe...

[@ThatBum42]

I stand by the opinion that Aerojet Rocketdyne is one of the coolest company names ever.

[@ThatBum42]

@Stesilaus Also Probodobodyne from KSP lol.

[@markbike5288]

Rocket Research is up there in my books, and I've got the paystubs to prove it.

[@quantumbubbles2106]

Not to be confused with Aerodyne Rocketjet and Jecketaer Dynorot.

[@nukedukem6]

And furries think they aren't degenerates

[@HieronymousLex]

Your opinion would be correct, sir.

[@bobjones5166]

My dad worked for Aerojet back in the 1950's and 60's as a machinist. When he left to build his own shop they set him up with a ton of equipment and with a handshake he had a 10 year contract with him to build parts for them. Don't see that kind of loyalty these days. He was still doing work for them in the early 2000's when he finally retired. Just my $0.02

[@quantumbubbles2106]

Wow, that's amazing, and shows better how to thank an (ex-)employee than all kinds of fancy "awards" to hang on one's wall, glass bricks to put on a shelf, or year-end bonus payments!

[@hemiedwards217]

@@quantumbubbles2106 That just shows that the people who ran Rocketdyne actually knew the value of the skills and expertise of their workers, unlike the vast majority of MBA executives and investors who only know accounting and finance., not the domain knowledge of the business that they're operating and investing in.

[@aeredhaelredfalen6194]

I used to have a neighbor who retired from there. He had a T-shirt that read "Aerojet Rocketdyne" on the back, and the front said "Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!" Cool guy, lots of stories.

[@orbitalair2103]

Bullocks, only us at Thiokol-Huntsville were real rocket scientists !!

[@cylonred8902]

The year the Warner Brothers stores shut down was the year I got married and walking thru the Orlando airport my bride and I saw the Marvin the Martian shit that said "But I am a rocket scientist". Decided to buy it for my dad later in the year..... then they closed and I never got the chance... :(

[@muzaaaaak]

Rancho Cordova, CA USA. Still have friends working there.

[@jasonharrison25]

@@muzaaaaak I've always known it as being a Folsom company until Rancho built up to them.

[@jasonharrison25]

I had a neighbor who passed away a few years ago that was a machinist there. Rancho cordova branch

[@wyattcon11]

Oh good, This will consolidate my job application rejections through Lockheed now.

[@wyattcon11]

@ Entry-level Engineering Positions. Systems, Additive Mfg., Composites, Structures, and Test Engineering. Sometimes there's a few other titles that apply to my experience bubble that are a bit more niche. BS Aerospace Engineering, minoring in Materials Engineering.

[@SwampMonster1]

Consolidation is key 🤣 good luck 🤞

[@mattweihl]

Mind if I ask which business area?

[@hlcepeda]

Have you tried for a civilian position at the _Air Force Research Lab?_ The one near Edwards AFB has lately worked with _Aerojet Rocketdyne._ With _AFRL_ experience, that may get you good visibility to _AR_ if you want to make the jump to the private sector. Then there's _Jacobs Technologies_ who support test/facility operations at AFRL (Edwards).

[@wyattcon11]

@@mattweihl Primarily Space and Aeronautics, with the occasional MFC. I've been kinda intimidated by RMS since my knowledge of that business area isn't as strong as I'd like it to be.

[@cowboybob7093]

1:07 Working on a rocket motor with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. THE GOOD ol' DAYS

[@paulhaynes8045]

Reminds me... I was once working on a car engine, whilst smoking. I turned the engine over whilst leaning over it (checking the carb, IIRC), forgetting a) the petrol puump was disconnected and b) it was a mechanical pump. Cue a face full of petrol - and a damp cigarette! A never-to-be-forgotten demo of the fact that petrol, doesn't explode, it's VAPOUR does. Thank God!

[@johnladuke6475]

Dangit Bill, use the ashtray, this is a CLEAN ROOM!

[@Czenda24]

That's a mighty big cigarette. I think it's a tool or a part of the kit, people use their mouths to hold such things when two hands are not enough.

[@GreenJimll]

That's not a cigarette. That was back in the 1950s/60s - it's obviously a massive spliff. :-)

[@richardmillhousenixon]

@@Czenda24 See: Cigar

[@kimsmoke17]

I was relocated to Los Angeles in 1996. Company that hired me put me up for a month at a corporate leased apartment. I think it was a complex at the corner of Erwin and Canoga. Next morning left for work, drove up a couple blocks north on Canoga, and saw the famous F-1 engine in front of the Rocketdyne plant, in person, for the first time - my 2nd day in L.A. Still remember it like yesterday!

[@dwaynehendricks7842]

So, a corporate-leased apartment huh. How many secretaries got a tour of those facilities?

[@davidbadt4829]

11 mins, pure content, no midrolls. God bless Scott Manley and the great work he does.

[@Q_QQ_Q]

I could have bought Aerojet Rocketdyne if I had received stimuls like Lockheed Martin for nothing .

[@stevechance150]

Well we have to take care of our Military Industrial Complex. If we don't supply them with an endless river of taxpayer money, how will they supply our U.S. Senators with a stream of lobbying money? Without the money from lobbyist, Senators might have to do things that help the voters, all the voters (not just the ones with the sweet military contractor jobs).

[@thePronto]

Because you thought your lips were for talking and eating. Other people think they are an essential federal business development tool...

[@dontfollowme9043]

@@thePronto by providing oral jobs to corporations?

[@Syritis]

this comment and steve's reply pretty much sum up modern day america. selling the poor's money to the rich.

[@John.0z]

@@Syritis "this comment and steve's reply pretty much sum up modern day america. selling the poor's money to the rich." And getting the poor to think that is not only a good thing, but the *only* way things can be done. There is a whole field of psychology devoted to "opinion change" - to ensure this attitude is maintained.

[@ProfessorJayTee]

This is the descendent of the same company my uncle took out a mortgage on his house to invest in, back in the early 1940s. His first wife thought his investment was nuts, anyway... for about 10 years. Then she stopped laughing, as he used his massive payback to continue aerospace investments... He told me once (when I was a kid) that he got more than a 200-to-1 return on that first investment. Got to say he would have loved to see this. Wish he was still around to ask him the details, now.

[@avi8r66]

This also adds to the Lockheed patent arsenal.

[@drumkommandr9779]

you mean, the arsenal they arent producing but are required to have filed engineering diagrams on in a public format?

[@avi8r66]

@@drumkommandr9779 That's where the real money is, yes. And it's not just complete engine patents, it's all the little pumps, mixtures, coatings, bearings, whatever.

[@faroncobb6040]

Eventually this will be merged with the ULA and and the Orbital ATK bits that Northrup Grumman owns to form a single company that can be called OldSpace. It will be very successful at getting government contracts and will occasionally even deliver hardware.

[@Jakilla69]

They'll just get the contracts and then subcontract spacex and blue origin for far cheaper... in 50 years they'll be just a management company hardware museum curator.

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

Times, they are a changing

[@gajbooks]

As long as they get Terry Crews for ads I'll be happy.

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

@@gajbooks Terry loves ads

[@kelvinyonger8885]

A Lockheed Martin Northrup Grumann merger will never get approved, it'd dominate military aerospace.

[@ricoreyes6044]

Just to get a feel for how big a billion is: 1 million seconds is about 11.5 days 1 billion seconds is about 32 years

[@failandia]

the difference around a million and a billion dollar? about a billion dollar

[@wasmic5z]

Also, one thousand times 11.5 days is 32 years. The math checks out.

[@WetaMantis]

4,4 Billion is peanuts for this company.

[@WetaMantis]

@Anessen They are medium size video game developer studios that are valued more than them. And mind you we are talking about one of the very few rocket engine manufacturer in the US they work for the BIG boys building the most complex and intricate machines for most of the industry for decades.

[@WetaMantis]

@Anessen Thank you :)

[@cylonred8902]

My father worked for Rocketdyne right after he got out of college doing rocket engine work, he was a Rocket Propulsion/Aeronautical engineer.

[@eldarshamukhamedov4521]

"The biggest... second biggest now provider in the US." Took a second for my brain to process that and realize that, of course, SpaceX is by far the biggest provider at this point. Somehow I still think of them as the underdog.

[@BlackEpyon]

SpaceX saves a lot of money by being located in a single factory, rather than being a "jobs program" and spread across the country.

[@SSanatobaJR]

Nope, SpaceX has them beat now. They are scrambling to catch up.

[@Kabup2]

@@SSanatobaJR How exactly they are catching up? I don't see new techs here, just managing and cutting some costs, but they are not pursuing reusability, or creating better hardware, the strong point of Spacex, I think

[@Kyle-gw6qp]

@@Kabup2 unlike SpaceX most other companies don't boast about every technical development until it's actually ready for use.

[@Kabup2]

@@Kyle-gw6qp You have a point here. Still, we should hear something about some testing, just like when Blue Origin do something, even if it goes wrong.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

ya I can't see any issue with Lockheed owning Boeing's engine manufacturer for SLS

[@1slotmech]

Aerojet has been keeping costs down and reasonable, only to be bought by Lockheed Martin. Great.😱😔

[@sub31k]

Aerospace contractors have been consolidating and consolidating. It seems like all there is left is Boeing Northrop Grumann and LockMart.

[@bbirda1287]

OMG anybody but LockMart *sigh*

[@michagrill9432]

I dont think costs of these engines will matter much anymore once Starship is up and running lol

[@XeL_666]

Everyone is shuffling around in a craze since spacex is the leader in the space transportation industry. Not really suprised that these space companies are combining.

[@romanmorozov6974]

@@XeL_666 I disagree that this is the reason. As Scott said, revenue from NASA is only ~25% of the total revenue for the company, most is prob from DoD. And besides, federal spending for DoD is always high, LM just wants a bigger pie of that. That’s where money is at in US, not in space

[@patricks_music]

I can’t imagine all of the politics involved in acquiring a company like aerojet rocketdyne. So many policy issues

[@anarchyantz1564]

Well you can likely see where some of the 700 billion stimulus package went to then.

[@FastSloth87]

It's easier when you're Lockheed Martin.

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@FastSloth87 Which is just a front company for the CIA anyway.

[@markbike5288]

As a US company to US company transaction it was probably less hassle than the sale of Westinghouse nuclear business to British Nuclear Fuels Limited, and thence to Toshiba and thence to Brookfield in 2018.

[@tygerbyrn]

Lockheed Martin: “We practically are the military.”

[@thirteenthandy]

I happen to be watching this just down the street from Aerojet Rocketdyne right now.

[@thirteenthandy]

@@batugunduz3950 Nothing visible. They're very private, I asked a few months ago if they allow the public into their lobby or for tours at all and they said no due to security issues. Personally I'd kill for a SpaceX Hawthorne tour more than anything.

[@PluetoeInc.]

@@thirteenthandy can you kill my ex? Tgen I'll have a talk with elon! Say what?

[@thirteenthandy]

@@batugunduz3950 I sincerely doubt we will see any visible expansion at their Canoga Park facility, there's just no room anywhere.

[@Q_QQ_Q]

@@batugunduz3950 they have become oligarchy .

[@schwenke069]

30 years ago when deciding a major. Aerospace engineering was most interesting ... thought about that really hard. Decide Petroleum engineering had the most potential for employment. No regrets ... but still love aerospace.

[@Vardeth805]

I wonder how much stimulus money Lockheed received. Probably made this an almost free acquisition.

[@scottmanley]

Don't get me started.....

[@Q_QQ_Q]

@@scottmanley Go on .

[@andersjjensen]

@@scottmanley Oh Scott.. you just CAN'T say something like that and then just walk away.....

[@EFCasual]

Lockheed Martin receives more money from the federal government each year than any other company. Just as a point of reference several years ago the average taxpayer payed them $274.

[@Imbeachedwhale]

A quick search found $1.4 billion for the C-130 and F-35 programs in the July 2020 Bill, but I have not dug into it much.

[@madhulikamadhu51]

RIP Rocketdyne, you may be dead but will forever be in the minds of us enthusiasts

[@SSanatobaJR]

They are not dead.

[@Wordsmiths]

@@SSanatobaJR We'll see about that. Give them a year inside Lockheed. I really hope Rocketdyne will thrive, but ...we'll see.

[@GURken]

Another step towards Militech. Soon these guys from Arasaka will know what is a true power.

[@ilikeyourname4807]

You want 'Saka? The closest thing in existence today would probably be Samsung

[@Qmeister044]

@@ilikeyourname4807 Mitsubishi Group and Hyundai Group also have very diversified assets.

[@dtgs4502]

Nah, Misriah Armory puts that monopoly to shame.

[@Nickxis]

lol

[@ThoDen1000]

LOL, not only am I currently playing Cyberpunk, but I also work for AR

[@ralikdiver]

Aerojet used to test solid fuel engines at a facility on the edge of the Everglades near Florida City. I lived in Homestead, just north of there. This was the late 60's, early 70's and the thunder from those engine tests was so loud our teachers would have to stop class for a few minutes until they burned out. The facility is abandoned now. Seen some KZbin videos from abandoned places explorers.

[@Afterburner]

I worked there for 32 years and father was there for 31 years as a propulsion scientst while I was corporate webmaster for 20+ years of my 32 year career. It was an amazing place to work and I have many good memories of the amazing people I worked with. Lockheed is a great place for the company to end up... We worked well with them for many years on contacts and product development.

[@MrBubmer]

Ayyyee let's monopolize the launch vehicle market some more

[@holyravioli5795]

How is it monopolized? You've got NASA, ISRO, ROSCOSMOS and blue origin. If anything this is the least monopolized time in history for rocket launches.

[@Q_QQ_Q]

@@holyravioli5795 in usa

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

We are entering the era of multiple cheaper providers. Old behemoths think lowering their costs by 30% will help them compete with spacex, rocket labs and blue origin. It won't.

[@spetsnatzlegion3366]

Don’t worry, everyone else is innovating fast enough to keep them out of the top spots in the market

[@CouchCommander5000]

@@Bow-to-the-absurd so true

[@Cby0530]

"The Aj10 was one of those engines that popped up everywhere" Right on. It's almost omnipresent across all of space history.

[@UntangleTheOffice]

The man knows his engines! Thank you Scott for the energy and information you put into your channel!

[@georgegrubbs2966]

I worked on the RL10 rocket engine at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Corporation in West Palm Beach, Florida. The rocket business was sold some time after I left. The RL10 continued to be the go to 2nd stage rocket engine for decades and is still being used!!

[@SaucyAlfredo]

Only gonna get more expensive with less competition. Pretty damn hard to get a space company up and running.

[@McFlysGarage]

At what point does Lockheed get hit with monopoly laws

[@SSanatobaJR]

You guys, the industry is expanding greatly with even more competition popping up. This maybe the move needed to ensure they can adapt and survive the competition of the younger companies.

[@Nostradamus_Order33]

Elon: “ hold my beer “

[@Syritis]

starting to seem pretty easy for start-ups to undercut the heritage companies

[@John.0z]

@@Syritis I would not interpret the efforts of the three new companies as "easy". It may be a bit easier, but that is a relative term. All those who choose to denigrate Musk have plenty of expensive explosions to point at. In doing so they ignore all the similar ones in the 50's and 60's. It is a high-risk industry.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Another wonderful history! Thanks Scott! In the big picture, Lockheed Martin is saving the Aeroet Rocketdyne intellectual property from dying due to being outcompeted by SpaceX and to a much lesser extent Blue Origin.

[@HorribleHarry]

Here in the “valley” watching all the space industry moving from Southern California. Heartbreaking watching the old building being demolished.

[@scottmanley]

Don't worry, SpaceX, RocketLab & Virgin Orbit all set up in SoCal in the last 20 years.

[@nathanbrown8680]

@@scottmanley Didn't SpaceX just leave CA, or was that just Tesla? If it was just Tesla do you really think the same owner won't make the same decision based on the same business environment? If you want the good old days back you have to dial back tax rates and regulatory environment to what they were in the good old days.

[@scottmanley]

@@nathanbrown8680 Elon Musk moved to Austin, but SpaceX and Tesla’s manufacturing remain in California. Remember that these businesses were able to take advantage of California grants supporting technology development. The main point of contention that pushed Elon’s move appeared to be California’s stronger rules to reduced COVID-19 spread this years. It’s rarely as simple as ‘taxes’ for a corporation that employs accountants and is legally based in Delaware anyway. And of course California’s environmental policy offers significant benefits for Tesla.

[@Wordsmiths]

@@scottmanley I think Tesla and SpaceX facilities are staying in California; from what I've read, Elon's biggest "move from CA to TX" was almost entirely personal. He sold all his personally-owned real estate in California and moved himself and his family to establish personal residency in Texas, partly just to be closer to Boca Chica (where he's been spending a lot of time recently) but mostly because he's earning a lot more money than back in the "I'm nearly broke but I won't give up either of these companies" days. Tesla & SpaceX can negotiate corporate tax breaks with California, but there are no personal income tax breaks in California... and in Texas, there's no personal income tax at all.

[@rayss3323]

@@nathanbrown8680 SpaceX occupies one of Northrops old buildings in Hawthorne.

[@lgkfamily]

Excellent vid! I know that your focus here is on boosters for orbital space vehicles, but let's not forget smaller rocket motors used in air-to-air, air-to-ground and ground-to-air rockets and missiles. Aerojet's only other major rocket motor competitor over the long years was Orbital ATK, which was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018 for $9.2 billion. Thiokol provided the solid rocket motors for the space shuttle. Thiokol was purchased by ATK, which in turn was purchased by Orbital. When missile companies like Raytheon and their competitors designed new products, it was Aerojet and ATK who would competitively bid to supply the rocket motors. Rocket motors, especially brand new designs, require a great deal of very narrow areas of expertise, and the prototyping phases rarely went smoothly. In the bidding process, the one who would win the rocket motor bid tended to be the one that the missile designers were the least annoyed with at the time. Don't get me wrong: These are two very talented and competent companies, but being that there are only two of them around (meaning large companies) they tended to be a little too self-assured in their positions. The U.S. Navy refuses to allow hypergolics on board their ships, so solid rocket motors were the de facto choice for even their largest missiles. Most military missiles use solid rocket motors. I tended to be involved more so in the guidance and control areas than the motors, but I still rightly consider myself a rocket scientist.

[@Farming-Technology]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how boomer America the name Aerojet Rocketdyne is. (in a good/nostalgic way)

[@DeathValleyDazed]

I’m a boomer and agree with your comment. Becoming “vintage” sure has some upside and downside. Watching Elon Musk conquer space is thrilling. My goal is to live long enough to witness humans set foot on Mars and hopefully the first will be female, for a change of tradition! 🚀

[@alexandresen247]

same universe as black mesa and aperture science

[@DeathValleyDazed]

@@alexandresen247 - Sorry for being dense and for never playing online with these two games: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a33El6edZ9WJgtU But I’m missing the point as to how they are in the “same universe” as Aerojet Rocketdyne?

[@thenasadude6878]

It screams 50s and I love it

[@RCAvhstape]

It's actually pre-Boomer, it's the generation before Boomers, the ones who were teens or twenty-somethings during WWII.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

AJ's problem was they demanded the government fund development of any new engine back 10 years ago and everybody ignored them because times were changing

[@wildepicsphotography9408]

Couple additions: Rocketdyne supplied the engines for the X-15 P&W RL-10s powered the McDonnell Douglas DC-X test vehicles RL-10 was the first LH2/Lox rocket engine in the world. After the Rocketdyne shuttle turbo pumps had durability issues that they couldn’t solve, P&W supplied the turbo pumps.

[@reyalexandro]

I work for Sikorsky in Lockheed. I was curious what Aerojet did, glad I searched. Already watched a bunch of your vids. Very informative.

[@memadmax69]

$4.4 billion... thats it? Hard times man...

[@NozomuYume]

As far as historical products, don't forget Aerojet-General Nucleonics that made small nuclear reactors, one of which I've had the privilege to work with. xD

[@BY-it2oe]

That's interesting. Can you share some more information about the reactor?

[@NozomuYume]

@@BY-it2oe Sure, AGN made a series of educational reactors that were basically super-conservative, that at max power only produced a few watts of output. They could *barely* achieve criticality and were inherently stable. They were designed to be used in high schools as part of future atomic energy courses. Larger training reactors like General Atomics' TRIGA series would be used in universities and in more prestigious high schools. Unfortunately the public went from being irrationally optimistic about nuclear power to being irrationally fearful about it, so high school didn't get reactors, and AGN's reactors were repurposed as budget reactors for universities that still wanted a nuclear program but couldn't afford a TRIGA. There's very few left these days as more and more universities let their nuclear licenses lapse and it's an incredible pain to get a new one, and NOBODY is building new training reactors so as the old ones get scrapped fewer and fewer places can get one. Which is sad as these training and research reactors were designed to be incredibly safe. An AGN reactor can't melt down because it's self-stabilizing and its operating temperatures are low. If you intentionally send it on a power excursion it melts a plastic safety fuse and the core drops out of the moderator/reflector and criticality stops. To create a dangerous situation with it you'd have to do some serious physical damage and even then the amount of radioactive material in it is so low it would just involve cleanup of a single building. We're talking about a device that emits less energy than a kid's easy bake oven, because this reactor was designed so 13 year olds could learn about nuclear energy without breaking anything.

[@NozomuYume]

@@BY-it2oe If you're curious, here's a picture of Texas A&M's AGN-201N: hps.org/images/vol105no3.jpg And here's what it looks like with a human for scale, including the control panel: 1.bp.blogspot.com/--iXvBhMH0-c/UfhaZKcZw7I/AAAAAAAAAa4/-LYWm6FVdmM/s1600/Aerojet+reactor.jpg

[@NozomuYume]

@@BY-it2oe They were designed to be easily mass-produced, with the eventual goal to produce thousands of them so that every high school in the country could have one to teach our future atomic-age engineers (remember this was the 50's!). In the end I think they only made a couple of dozen of them. Here's a great video about the reactor: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oF7Xm4WelNFjetE

[@ozzymandius666]

@@NozomuYume That is indeed a sad story. I consider myself lucky to have seen a research reactor glowing blue in a pool of water many years ago.

[@irdmoose]

My parents house has a crack in the wall that we kept there through a remodel from the F1 rocket tests that Aerojet did at their facility near Folsom/Racho Cordova. Those rockets were so powerful that just one on the test stand shook the house over 4 miles away.

[@hunt0583]

Thank you for making this video. It was very informative. My grandfather worked for Aerojet from around 1956 to around 2005

[@Zeyervv]

For some reason everything that Scott tells feels like he was there and make you feel like you are there aswell

[@James-rl5tj]

Scrambling to acquire competitors to keep pace with SpaceX.

[@James-zh6nf]

more like weapon contracts.

[@spretcher]

Well, at least it ain't Boeing who bought them.

[@birdbasket]

Lockheed is mostly a military contractor. they have no need to keep pace with spaceX.

[@thePronto]

Legacy aerospace is like waterfall software: they spend years refining a product that was designed for a decade ago. SpaceX build it to break it until it stops breaking. Meanwhile, the legacy guys are mocking them while going bust. But their retirement accounts are intact...they hope...

[@birdbasket]

@@thePronto, the buisness strategies are completely different to that of spaceX. spaceX's goal is to provide cheap launch services, for as many people as they can. ULA, and by extent boeing and lockheed martin's space divisions are focused on reliability, and high cost payloads from government or science organizations. falcon nine has failed twice, and has had multiple non-critical issues before. the atlas V or delta IV have never failed. there is equally viable room in the market for both, I don't understand why people don't understand this.

[@railgap]

For a handfull of years in the late 80s and early 90s, I worked at the Waterton, Colorado plant of Martin-Marietta (before they merged with Lockheed) doing space environment testing on flight hardware, but I was able to tour all of the non-classified parts of the facility, top to bottom, including all the manufacturing and assembly of the LVs. But they bought the engines for their famous Titans from Aerojet. ^_^ Also, their boosters were INSANELY robust compared to modern rockets. Just hard to imagine how ridiculously strong they were. Parts of the aluminum skins were inches thick. The manufacturing machinery - chemical milling, forming, and mechanical milling etc - were enormous. There aren't enough pictures to really convey how inefficient they were. Manufacturing methods for every piece of onboard hardware - and the military requirements from which those designs sprang - ensured that they had rather poor throw weight for the LV's mass, by today's standards. I was appalled at how over-built and heavy everything was!

[@litmusaero2645]

Your the only KZbin who can just sit down and talk and be incredibly factually correct and interesting as heck!

[@steverobbins4872]

Ha, ha! I worked there when it was just Rocketdyne, and then for a few years after Boeing bought it. After I left it was sold to Pratt and Whitney, then sold again to Aerojet, and now sold for a forth time!!! Good luck Lockheed Martin!!!

[@freeman2399]

Another acquisition to bulk up the giant tax sponge.

[@GalenMatson]

I think AR only developed rocket motors with tax dollars anyway so it's kind of like a tax sponge being absorbed by an even bigger tax sponge.

[@chestersnapdragonmcphistic579]

Haha corporation bad

[@sn31t33]

@@chestersnapdragonmcphistic579 Yeah they suck.

[@GalenMatson]

@@chestersnapdragonmcphistic579 I think they're great, in general. In this instance they are responding to incentives. The government guarantees their profit so they take no risks and maximize contract costs.

[@after_midnight9592]

Gotta keep those spaceships and off-world bases up and running somehow

[@shaun906]

Merry Christmas, you've been a gem over the lockdown!

[@UncleKennysPlace]

JATO on an Ercoupe ... priceless!

[@catfish552]

Of all the planes to strap JATO to, that has to be one of the most hilarious options.

[@tgmccoy1556]

@@catfish552 "Grampa what did you fly when you were test pilot for Aerojet?" "Well Jimmie,I flew the 'Coupe."😁

[@josephpadula2283]

Erocoupes were sold in department stores and originally had no rudder pedals. The last plane that needs Jato!

[@sietuuba]

Technically, those were RATO units. Although a rocket does exhaust a "jet", it's not a jet engine but a rocket motor. :-)

[@alexrossouw7702]

Half a Kg of thrust for a plasma engine is just what I needed to hear

[@zebo-the-fat]

I wonder what the input power for that is

[@IneptOrange]

@@zebo-the-fat I mean in order to be a flight engine and not just an expensive toaster it must be pretty good on that front

[@alexrossouw7702]

1200W AC mains via extension cord found in the back of the lab I bet

[@44R0Ndin]

@@IneptOrange I'd be guessing on the order of several tens of kilowatts of power. Certainly the kind of power you'd have a dedicated circuit breaker for.

[@NoobPilot831]

The last thing we need is less competition

[@BlackEpyon]

Sure, if Amazon or Google drive away the competition, it's called a monopoly, but when defence contractors do it, it's a jobs program to build the American economy.

[@SSanatobaJR]

Aerospace competition is growing, not shrinking. There are more and more aerospace companies popping up all the time. Defense, well that I wouldn't know.

[@NoobPilot831]

@@SSanatobaJR that completely ignores the competitive landscape however. What is the rate of bankruptcy? The uncompetitive nature of huge government aerospace contracts stifles innovation.

[@reyalexandro]

@@SSanatobaJR they're one in the same. Aerospace is Defense and vice versa. Every major Aerospace company is in Defense

[@NeverTalkToCops1]

Stunning breadth of knowledge on rocket history! The Saturn F1 engines with the black apron or skirt of exhaust followed by the yellow flames always gets me. That black skirt is the exhaust from the turbo fuel pumps dumped into the engine bell. These turbo pumps had 66,000 horsepower and could drain a swimming pool in seconds!

[@ismailnyeyusof3520]

Merry Christmas to you and your family Scott Manley!😊

[@Masada1911]

I really don’t like the endless consolidations and mergers.

[@RasakBlood]

Welcome to the logical endpoint of capitalism.

[@Masada1911]

@@RasakBlood you are right. This kind of thing shouldn’t endlessly be allowed

[@live2ride18]

@@Masada1911 it’s not. You obviously don’t know the laws. Read up buttercup!

[@iowa2540]

@@live2ride18 As if laws hold any meaning for massive corporations. Fuck your smart ass response.

[@live2ride18]

@@iowa2540 they obviously do....that’s a very big reason Verizon wireless isn’t the only carrier. You don’t know because you don’t pay attention to real things, Verizon bought out alltel wireless but they weren’t permitted to buy out alltel completely because it would have given them at the time a near monopoly on the market. The government blocked it. If rocket companies get to big they will intervene there as well sooo fuck your know nothing ass. Learn something and you might one day string together some words to form a sentence that doesn’t make you look like crying bitch over a rocket company that has fuck all to do with your job flipping burgers. Who am I kidding you don’t have a job.

[@quazar5017]

The military industrial complex: " :D "

[@marsoz_]

Thank you corporations, very cool!

[@shaun906]

it has definitely grown into a multi headed serpent 🐍

[@tma2001]

SpaceX are very much part of the military industrial complex now which is disappointing but I guess understandable given Elon needs the cash for his Mars ambitions ...

[@sindhu9084]

@@tma2001 True

[@sindhu9084]

@@tma2001 It's like where they get like half of their money.

[@Kevin_Street]

Thanks for another great video! Your discussion of these companies and what they build is really interesting. It sure helps us understand the news story better.

[@acanuck1679]

Thanks for this, Scott. Very informative. Happy Christmas to you and yours!

[@thewingnut]

Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor, is positioning itself for Space Force contracts.

[@tau124]

I am Scott Safe. FLY MANLY!

[@arthurpearson3407]

Very good synopsis of a market that is a critical item in the effort for future space exploration.

[@waynethompson8416]

A lot of great information. Thanks for sharing with us!

[@johnladuke6475]

I do believe RKO is who made the late-night double-feature picture-show. You know, the science fiction double feature.

[@Kineth1]

I heard Flash Gordon was there. In silver underwear even!

[@mamulcahy]

Oh my! I had a flashback to Rocky Horror!

[@Farmelle]

Dammit Janet!

[@fixerman001]

no time warping on Scottys channel.

[@johnladuke6475]

@@fixerman001 Just listen closely... not for very much longer. I've got to... keep control.

[@AnexoRialto]

The military industrial complex continues to consolidate so as to more effectively over-charge.

[@twotone3471]

Kinda sucks if you are a Lobbyist though.

[@97skinnyboyswag]

@@twotone3471 kinda sucks if you’re anyone. We tax payers are paying for it all no matter who’s lobbying who.

[@twotone3471]

@@97skinnyboyswag IMHO, the life cycle of our legislators is thus: Lawyer (larval stage), Legislator (Juvenile stage where they sell their souls for money) and finally Lobbyist (Adult stage where they assist more Lawyers to become legislators to perpetuate the cycle). Our views on the matter really don't matter. And 80% of all Congressmen have law degrees. Vote how you want, but the basic definition of a Lawyer is a trained Liar.

[@richardcarlson2644]

Definition of a lawyer someone who is schooled in the art of lies and deception!

[@thebarkingmouse]

The military industrial complex has served us VERY well. The internet. Aviation. Space tech. Ocean mapping. Weather satellites. Surgical techniques. Wide-spread vaccinations... all thanks to our military industrial complex.

[@paulmeyers3832]

My dad worked for Aerojet for 30 years at the plant in California He raised 9 children with his pay check, so I have a warm place in my heart for this company.

[@bobroberts2371]

Look up Aerojet Dade Florida, there are vids of the solid rocket undergoing testing as well as relatively recent explorations of the site.

[@jnelchef]

Next video, the history of Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems.

[@tygerbyrn]

“...across the eighth dimension...”

[@spacecowboy426]

Just how big are we going to let Lockheed Martin get?

[@Ergzay]

Don't forget Northrup Grumman as well. Seems like every industry in the US is consolidating into a "big 2" or "big 3". This is not a good thing for competitiveness of US industry.

[@sferrin2]

They're not even as big as Boeing, let alone the REALLY big companies.

[@markokelly2494]

If they get big enough, Disney will acquire them.

[@bigpod]

@@Ergzay well reality is in anything there is space for maybe 3 competitors anymore is oversaturation

[@quokka7555]

@@sferrin2 Lockheed Martin and it’s subsidiaries are the largest defence contractor on the planet, ever.

[@fixerman001]

thank you for that breakdown Scott..... saved me hrs of googling..

[@remsmith3233]

Thanks again...very informative and great public information

[@catfish552]

Oh no! Is this gonna be the end of "Aerofat Rocketswine" jokes?

[@slaphappyduplenty2436]

No, now you get to say Aerofat Rocketswine Cockheed Fartin’ instead.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

@@slaphappyduplenty2436 correction: Aerofat Rocketswine Cockhead Fartin

[@markiangooley]

PIGS IN SPAAAACE

[@DaveWhiteInYoFace]

Hi Scott! I always wondered why the thermo electric generators are always mounted at what looks like a 45 degree angle?

[@Teehaze]

Just a small correction on the statement that Lockheed Martin is now producing all of the rocket motors for Orion. For the 24 RCS thrusters this is not the case. They are produced by ArianeGroup in Germany.

[@shadowraith1]

Thank you for the historical view of rocket evolution in this country. Thanks for sharing. :)

[@0cujo0]

Thanks for the Coupe video at 1:14 I had one for 12 years. Good little plane :-D

[@TheInsaneupsdriver]

Lockheed also bought the rights to the reaction engines precooler! that is the key part in air breathing rockets! and got the contract for the 1 hour attack plane, that can hit any target on earth in a hour. whether its possible or not is unknown yet...

[@tyler60904]

Perhaps there thinking long term, building spacecraft for the space force? Most of there money is from the military.

[@TheInsaneupsdriver]

@@tyler60904 either way, its a scary thought of what they might cook up from this. armed SR-72 maybe?

[@tyler60904]

@@TheInsaneupsdriver that or maybe there own version of starship. Unless they give the sr-72 scram jets and hypersonic missles

[@mg4695]

Interesting historical footnote to your story: Pratt & Whitney was in competition with Rocketdyne for the SSME and had a pretty good design. In particular, the cryogenic turbopumps were considered superior to any other ever designed. The Rocketdyne engine was having trouble with its cryogenic turbopumps but otherwise had a pretty good design. NASA eventually selected the Rocketdyne RS-25 BUT went to Pratt & Whitney and required them to share their turbopump design with Rocketdyne for the RS-25. There was acrimony over that decision for years until, of course, Pratt & Rocketdyne merged.

[@dalecomer5951]

As a matter of fact, Pratt had difficulty with their pumps for the RS-25 meeting performance requirements so NASA twisted arms to get Rocketdyne to help solve their issues. Rocketdyne management was naturally reluctant to help them out so NASA told Rocketdyne that if they wanted to stay on the RS-25 program they had to work with Pratt. The whole Pratt pump program was another NASA boondoggle.

[@512Mavlor]

My father worked for Aerojet in Azusa, CA for 36 years (retired). Senior Rocket Engineer. Anyone remember Aerojet Employee's Family Fun Night @ Disneyland, reserved from 8pm - 1am. ??

[@ThatKoukiZ31]

Scott, sometimes it's hard for me to take you seriously when you say "fly safe" because some of the first videos I saw from you were putting kerbals in questionable rockets and every one of them exploding. Ahh either way I enjoy how you change the sign off every time!

[@madjedi2235]

As a space nerd, I both love and absolutely DESPISE SLS.

[@Syritis]

i just despise sls, over priced supplus junk sold by a companies' that refuse to innovate (the exact opposite of capitalism)

[@sprocket9200]

Theodore von Karman was the principal of aerojet and Warner von Braun was the principal of rocketdyne. I worked there as a driver for 17 years, best job ever!

[@allencrider]

My mother worked at Aerojet General in the early 1960s in Southern California. She worked on budgeting and data was put on punch cards, and a little program to run the data was also on a stack of punch cards. SHe wasn't a programmer or anything, she had a degree in economics.

[@brandonlink6568]

Consolidation is a good thing, look at all the money these companies are saving by not having to pay their own separate lobbyists

[@lestergillis8171]

"Sooner or later you'll own Generals".

[@MusicalMemeology]

Good to see the free market working it’s magic in the USA. Sadly as an Aussie looking at the USA and how they still have a horrible postal service and DMV is astounding. In nsw here we have very much government run but private like companies that’s goal is to serve the customer efficiently and effectively. It’s amazing how backwards the USA still is and seeing what spacex has managed compared to nasa etc is sad but also inspiring.

[@Hamachingo]

Watching this video I just thought: Why not use the launch escape tower got some extra delta V instead of just discarding it? Just fire those thrusters and decouple the tower a second before the propellant runs out to clear the vehicle. The offset thrust can surely be offset by the main engines gimbal and the G force jump shouldn’t be too bad with the main rocket still attached.

[@Strike_Raid]

If we just talk about liquid engines, don’t forget Reaction Motors from long ago, and then Thiokol (yes they did build at least one liquid engine), and TRW of all things. Thing about the AJ-10; it actually predates the Vanguard. The Aerobee used that motor and even the WAC Corporal engine is the engine the AJ-10 was developed directly from. So that particular engine spans the entirety of US liquid rocket history, and shows no sign of ending. It may end up outlasting the B-52.

[@TheInsaneupsdriver]

Lockheed bought the rights to Reaction motors precooler.... I'm both excited and frightened at the same time. they also got a contract to build a one hour anywhere on earth attack plane. don't know if its feasible yet or not....

[@Strike_Raid]

I also remembered Bell making the Agena engine, and Marquardt made thrusters for Gemini, Apollo (including LM) and Space Shuttle (and probably Mercury too but I’m not sure), as well for unmanned programs.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

1:11 100%, no wait...75% reliable. That'll do.

[@sonnynguyen2653]

Merry Christmas 🎄 and Happy New year to you and your family 🎉🎆🎁🍀

[@JohnnyThund3r]

Holy crap they make Electric propulsion as good as it is in KSP!?

[@imagineaworld]

Thats half the price of the webb telescope :(

[@Anvilshock]

Except, Aerojet Rocketdyne stuff has managed to get itself put into space, even multiple times so, something that can't be said for JWT. JWT being launched? I believe that when my USB-connected mug warmer gets its power from cold fusion.

[@phpART]

@@Anvilshock the salt is pouring out of my screen :D

[@Anvilshock]

@@phpART JWT, the most expensive salt mill in the field of Aerospace that's never left the ground!

[@extrastuff9463]

@@Anvilshock I sometimes wonder what the response would be in a hypothetical scenario where it does leave the ground but some mishap in the rocket results in a big fireball before it reaches the destination. Are rocket launches and their cargo insured? If not is taking that risk just part of doing business in space?

[@warlockcommandcenter]

Scott we were shock by this e own shares of Aerojet been stocks been paying poorly but we hung in there. Happy now but owed it.

[@markthompson4885]

Thanks for the history lesion

[@raym909]

i worked at Edwards Air Force Base on the rocket labs side in the 1980's. our company used a test stand that was last used my Rocketdyne in the 1960's, Go to the Moon project. the side was just left like they went home and did not come back. all the old equipment was still there and the 5 test stands. talk about a time capsule.

[@AaronSmith1]

Can you do a video on 3d printing of rocket engines? I've been hearing about that for years and still imagine a giant 3d printer with a fully formed rocket motor slowly rising out of the resin pool at the bottom. I'm assuming that's not quite how it works.

[@44R0Ndin]

Look up SLS metal printing. I forget what the first S stands for, but the other two letters stand for Laser Sintering. Basically you use a laser to melt a layer of metal powder into the 2-D shape you want, and then you move the Z axis down a bit and brush more metal powder on top so you can make the next layer.

[@SunnySzetoSz2000]

3d metal printer is what you looking for...not resin printer

[@mohrds]

@@44R0Ndin It's actually slm, when talking about metal. Sls refers to selective laser sintering, but as metal is melted, not sintered, the process is called selective laser melting. Or more techically LPBF, laser powder bed fusion :)

[@krzysztofukawski2348]

@@44R0Ndin first S stands for selective (as you distribute thin layer of metal powder, but sinter just crossection of your part.

[@simongeard4824]

In general, it's just another way to manufacture engine parts... and usually not all the parts, just the ones where printing them is easier/cheaper/more-effective than traditional techniques. Many parts will still be manufactured traditionally, because 3d printing isn't magic... it's just a new tool that's useful for some problems.

[@lievenpetersen]

SLS: State sanctioned Longterm employment Scheme

[@sheldoniusRex]

Never forget, no matter how noble the cause, if it is government funded some Senator is going to try to pack it full of useless people (from his/her district, mind) and call it a "jobs program."

[@phpART]

Hahahahaha brilliant

[@vaska00762]

At this time, I don't think employing more people is a bad thing. A lot of projects, whether it's infrastructure, space or science has an ultimate goal to create jobs so that people can find employment and can contribute to the economy. If that increases budgets because you have to pay people to work... well... so be it. The alternative is to let people be unemployed and pay for that instead.

[@sheldoniusRex]

@@vaska00762 government jobs programs have an inversely logarithmic correlation with anything useful actually happening.

[@Diamondback68]

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley where Rocketdyne was located. Relatives worked there and clued us when tests were scheduled. We used to sneak up to the Santa Susana test facility and watch the atlas tests that would light up the SF valley and quivered your liver when viewed too close.

[@Culturedropout]

In the mid 1980's I worked for a small engineering company that designed and built high-speed carbon-composite winding systems for Aerojet. Interesting job.

[@burnout10567]

I was very surprised how much the nuclear generators look like their kerbal counterparts

[@coffeespy1133]

I don’t mean to be rude but where do u think ksp got its engine texture ideas?

[@danieljensen2626]

The kerbodyne name is not a mistake.

[@ieatdirtwasntavailable]

aeromartinlocketdyne

[@thomashiggins9320]

You win the thread!

[@Zonkotron]

Sounds chinese to me

[@thomashiggins9320]

@@Zonkotron I'm not sure any Chinese dialect uses the "L" sound. Just sayin'.

[@Wordsmiths]

@@thomashiggins9320 不对！进来看看. "Lai" and "leh" (了) and "lyou" (六) are all very common sounds in Mandarin, all being with the "L" sound. (I'm not using the pinyin to spell them in English, just trying to recreate the phonetic sounds).

[@Wordsmiths]

"AeroMartinLocketdyne" FTW! That's exactly what I'm calling them from now on.

[@ExaltedDuck]

Knowing that Rocketdyne was where Bill Bellows really earned massive recognition in defining Quality Management before joined the board of directors of the Deming Institute, I've always figured they might be an interesting place to learn and grow in that field. But having worked for companies that call LM a customer, I have the sad suspicion that won't be the case much longer (if it even were anymore under Aerojet - I honestly don't know)

[@stripsurge]

Would love to see an infographic of timelines of US rocket companies, including what they made/make and when they merged etc.