In 1969, Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne built the massive F-1 rocket engines that powered the Apollo 11 space flight, landing the first astronauts on the moon. Now, the company’s successor, Aerojet Rocketdyne, is playing a key role in plans to return people to the lunar surface and eventually reach Mars.
In May, NASA announced that Aerojet Rocketdyne was one of 11 companies awarded contracts to study how to land astronauts on the moon ‘s south pole. Specifically, Aerojet will look into developing a vehicle to transfer astronauts from a small space station orbiting the moon to a lower point, where a descent shuttle can bring the astronauts to the surface.
The now Sacramento-based company – which still employs around 1,500 people, including contractors at its Canoga Park facility – has also won contracts to build engines that will propel the first four Moon-bound trips on the Orion spacecraft in addition to a development contract to power the orbiting Gateway space station.
The price of the contracts has not been disclosed.
“From launching the first woman and the next American man to the moon and bringing them home safely, Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion technology will be there every step of the way,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne in a statement. “We are working with NASA and others to study the best options for taking humans to and from the surface of the moon.”
The Trump administration announced the “moon to Mars” initiative in March, which directed NASA to return to the moon by 2024 and establish a “sustainable human presence” by 2028. Last month, President Trump requested an additional $1.6 billion to fund the project.
Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars. I am updating my budget to include an additional $1.6 billion so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
On Friday, however, the president tweeted that the moon landing shouldn’t be NASA’s top priority.
For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2019
“For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago,” Trump wrote. “They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!”
According to NASA’s website, building a permanent presence on the moon will be an important step in enabling exploration on Mars.
President Trump’s tweet aside, going back to the moon stands to benefit the local aerospace industry, said Judy Kruger, director of aerospace and defense at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
“Any cutting-edge work like this is the type of boost we want for the industry,” she said. “We’ve got a very vibrant aerospace and development cluster in the region, and we’re uniquely positioned in Southern California to pick up contracts like this.”
After years of decline, the local aerospace industry, which dates back to Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1930s, is in the midst of a resurgence. That’s thanks to an increasing number of defense contracts with the U.S. military and burgeoning private space start-ups such as Elon Musk’s Space X in Hawthorne.
Aerospace and defense companies now employ more than 50,000 people across L.A. County, according to the LAEDC.
In addition to Aerojet Rocketdyne, NASA has awarded moon-to-Mars contracts to aerospace and defense companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which all have a significant presence in Southern California.
The new partnerships are especially encouraging for Aerojet, which announced 1,100 layoffs in 2017 as part of a cost-cutting plan. The company did not say whether it plans to expand operations or hiring because of the contracts.
Returning to the moon could also create additional commercial opportunities that appear straight out of science fiction. In addition to conducting research, NASA intends to develop a new “lunar economy” built upon mining and tourism.
On Friday, the agency even announced it will allow private companies to send ordinary citizens to the International Space Station as early as 2020. NASA plans to charge businesses $35,000 a night per passenger to stay alongside astronauts.
An Aerojet spokesperson said the company has no current plans to pursue such endeavors and is for now focusing on its current partnerships.
“We’re laying down the infrastructure that will open the avenue for the commercializing of space,” the spokesperson said.
