AEROSPACE

[Aerospace industry] [The X-1] [The Space Shuttle]

Aerospace Industry in California

The California aerospace industry has leveled off since the severe declines of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The improvement of the economies in the United States and abroad have increased demand for aircraft and space vehicles. Satellite manufacture is especially benefiting from the increasing demand for telecommunications systems. California stands ready to take advantage of the aerospace opportunities offered by the global economy. The California aerospace industry has contributed enormously to the history of aviation, space exploration and the end of the Cold War. California has a long history of aerospace manufacturing. Despite the defense cutbacks, 163,700 workers are employed at more than 1,140 aerospace firms, shipping $31 billion worth of products. California is home to about 750 manufacturers of aircraft and parts, 280 makers of search and navigation equipment, and 115 producers of spacecraft and parts. Twenty-three percent of the U.S. aerospace production is in California.

Some examples of aerospace firms in California:

Boeing North American in Seal Beach

(military aircraft, missiles, information systmes and space vehicels)

Northrop Grumman Corporation in LA/ El Segundo

(military aircraft and unmanned airborne vehicles)

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale

(developing space systems and missiles)

Hughes Electronics Corporation in LA

(high technology systems like radar and satellites)

McDonnell Douglas Corporation

in Long Beach (heavy-cargo aircrafts and commercial airliners)

in Huntington Beach (space and defense systems, including satellites)

California high-technology is in demand all over the world

There is a global market of consumers for California aerospace products whose applications are limited only by the imagination. California aerospace products are used by the military, commercial airlines, non-aerospace businesses, governments and researchers. California-made military aircraft, munitions and satellites are recognized worldwide for their superiority, with sales not just to the United States military, but to many foreign nations, as well.

Vandenberg AFB on the Central Coast in California is the home of California Spaceport Project and a test site for new developments in ballistic missiles technology.

The X-1

On October 14, 1947 at Edwards AFB the X-1, with USAF Captain Charles 'Chuck' Yeager as pilot, flew faster than the speed of sound for what is generally accepted as the first supersonic flight by a piloted aircraft. It was launched from under a bomb bay of a B-29 at 21,000 ft. Finally it flew at a speed of Mach 1.06 at an altitude of 45,000 feet.

The Space Shuttle

Vandenberg AFB is the home of California's space port program.(This shuttle will send a communication satellite into orbit)