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Aerojet Rocketdyne Installs Rocket Motor Casting Bell as Camden Large Solid Rocket Motor Development Facility Nears Completion

Mar 12,2020
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Aerojet Rocketdyne Installs Rocket Motor Casting Bell as Camden Large Solid Rocket Motor Development Facility Nears Completion

Installation marks another milestone for ongoing expansion in Camden

CAMDEN, Ark., March 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne has installed a steel casting bell to support production of large solid rocket motors, marking an important milestone for completion of its Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) facility in Camden.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Vacuum Chamber Casting Bell
  Aerojet Rocketdyne’s vacuum chamber casting bell will support production of large solid rocket motors in Camden, Arkansas

 

The vacuum chamber casting bell was relocated from Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Sacramento, California, facility, where it was used to produce large rocket boosters for the Atlas V rocket. In Camden, it will be used to produce large solid rocket motors for programs, including hypersonics and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Camden facility will be able to produce motors up to 470 inches long and up to 100 inches in diameter.

“The installation of the casting bell is a major milestone as Aerojet Rocketdyne continues to prepare for national security programs, including the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program and the Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor program,” said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “I would especially like to thank state and local leaders from the great State of Arkansas whose efforts have been critical to our ongoing expansion here in Camden.”

The casting bell is a vacuum chamber that eliminates air bubbles that can otherwise form when propellant is poured into solid rocket motor casings. The chamber also serves as an oven that heats the propellant during the curing process, and then cools it back down to ambient temperature.

Aerojet Rocketdyne broke ground on its 17,000 square-foot EMD facility in spring 2019 as a part of an ongoing expansion of its Camden operations, where the company has had a presence since 1979. The $15.5 million state-of-the-art facility is slated to open this spring.

Northrop Grumman  selected Aerojet Rocketdyne in 2019 to join its industry team for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, the U.S. Air Force effort to replace the nation’s current Minuteman III strategic missile fleet. Aerojet Rocketdyne would provide a large solid rocket motor system and a post-boost propulsion system for Northrop Grumman’s nationwide GBSD team.

In August 2018Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO Eileen Drake and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson  announced plans to expand the Southern Arkansas facility near Camden, where the company manufactures solid rocket motors and warheads critical to national defense.

The expansion plan included investing in new infrastructure and creating more than 140 jobs by 2021. Working in partnership with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Calhoun and Ouachita Counties, more than $50 million dollars is being invested in the ongoing expansion.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne: Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion systems and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, and tactical systems areas, in support of domestic and international customers. For more information, visit www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com. Follow Aerojet Rocketdyne and CEO Eileen Drake on Twitter at @AerojetRdyne and @DrakeEileen.

Media Contacts:
Eileen Lainez, Aerojet Rocketdyne, 571-239-7839
eileen.lainez@rocket.com
Sonya Archer, Aerojet Rocketdyne, 870-574-3443
sonya.archer@rocket.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f7f33561-5383-4572-9ed1-b2b19d3d2c82

 

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Source: Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.

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CA Transparency in Supply Chains Act Notification: The Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. is a manufacturer of products for the U.S. Government. As such, it is currently accepting contracts with a clause regarding slavery and human trafficking, specifically Federal Acquisition Regulation clause FAR 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons. Aerojet Rocketdyne issued an appropriate internal directive prohibiting conduct proscribed by this clause, and notified its employees of these requirements and possible consequences of noncompliance. Furthermore, Aerojet Rocketdyne requires its suppliers accept the same clause in purchase orders ultimately having federal customers, and requires their lower tier suppliers do the same. Government contractors warrant or certify their contract clause compliance, and the U.S. Government and Aerojet Rocketdyne may conduct reasonable audits of its suppliers for compliance. Aerojet Rocketdyne buyers are being trained that an exception to this clause is not to be allowed, absent a legal review.