WASHINGTON - Rocketdyne, the storied name in space propulsion, is once again striking out on its own, because apparently being part of a giant conglomerate wasn't doing it for them. AE Industrial Partners has officially closed its $845 million purchase of L3Harris Technologies' space propulsion, power, and electronics units, carving out a 1,300-person space supplier from the missile business that L3Harris is keeping for itself.
AE Industrial announced on Aug. 4 that it now holds a 60% stake in the newly independent Rocketdyne, while L3Harris retains a 40% noncontrolling interest and will stick around as a 'strategic partner.' Because what's a little corporate divorce without a friendly co-parenting arrangement?
Kristin Houston, who was already running these businesses under L3Harris, has been crowned chief executive. Houston previously led the Space Propulsion & Power Systems unit and the electro-optical business, and she logged over 16 years at Boeing in engineering and program management. She's clearly no stranger to big aerospace bureaucracy, so she knows what she's escaping.
“As an independent and standalone company, we can move faster, make decisions closer to the customer and pursue opportunities that simply weren’t available to us inside a larger organization,” Houston told reporters, in what is surely the most predictable quote from any corporate spin-off in history.
But this isn't your daddy's Aerojet Rocketdyne. When L3Harris scooped up that company three years ago, it was a one-stop shop for solid rocket motors, launch engines, and spacecraft systems. Now, L3Harris has split it along market lines, keeping the missile-y bits for itself. Missile propulsion, solid rocket motors, and hypersonic technologies stay with L3Harris's Missile Solutions business, which is about to go public. Even the RS-25 engine - the one powering NASA's Space Launch System core stage - was left out of the deal and remains wholly owned by L3Harris. So no, you can't have that.
Instead, the new Rocketdyne will focus on launch-vehicle engines, spacecraft propulsion, space electronics, and nuclear power systems. Its claim to fame is the RL10 upper-stage engine, which has been faithfully hoisting payloads on United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 and Vulcan rockets, as well as NASA's Space Launch System missions. They also make reaction-control thrusters, chemical and electric spacecraft propulsion, avionics, secure communications equipment, and flight-safety systems. You know, the usual.
Rocketdyne is also making a big push into space electronics and power systems, including nuclear energy systems for defense and exploration missions. Don't worry, they're not building reactors themselves - they'll partner with actual reactor suppliers. “We do have expertise in power conversion and power management and distribution,” Houston said, which is aerospace-speak for 'we handle the plugs and switches.'
The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, with operations in Jupiter and Daytona Beach, Florida; Mason, Ohio; Los Angeles; and Redmond, Washington. About 430 of its 1,300 employees are engineers and scientists, because every company needs some people who actually know what they're doing.
Rocketdyne boasts a proud heritage: approximately 22,000 chemical thrusters delivered for spacecraft, and more than 500 RL10 engines flown. Their propulsion has graced NASA planetary missions, the Voyager spacecraft, and the Parker Solar Probe. They also made Hall thrusters that saved the U.S. military's AEHF-1 communications satellite when its main engine gave up the ghost, nudging it into geosynchronous orbit like a cosmic tow truck.
Current programs span national security, civil, and commercial space. They supply propulsion for GPS and Wideband Global Satcom satellites, NASA's Orion spacecraft, the Roman Space Telescope, and the NASA-NOAA GeoXO weather-satellite program. Their portfolio also includes datalinks for Maxar's WorldView Legion satellites and radioisotope power systems for Mars rovers and NASA's Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan. So, basically, if it's going to space and needs a nudge, Rocketdyne probably had a hand in it.
AE Industrial partner Jon Lusczakoski said that separating the business will give Rocketdyne greater freedom to invest and expand. The private equity firm, which also has stakes in Firefly Aerospace, Redwire, and York Space Systems, is clearly building a space empire one spin-off at a time. Here's hoping Rocketdyne's newfound independence doesn't come with a midlife crisis.