Company Has Flown Over 1,600 Successful Booster Missions

With a track record stretching back to the Eisenhower administration, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne carried the first US astronauts into space and to the moon, deployed satellites on planetary orbits, and lifted deep-space telescopes that found galaxies near the dawn of time. In August, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne hit the 1,600 mark with the successful launch of the GeoEye-1 commercial satellite -- the highest number of launches ever achieved by a US company.

"I am proud to be part of a team that has accomplished so much and overcome so many technical challenges to achieve such an impressive milestone," said Jim Maser, president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "I look forward to our bright future as we expand our business in new and exciting areas."

After launching the first American Redstone Rocket in 1953, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's family of engines went on to boost satellites that predict hurricanes; provide military and intelligence applications; map, measure and monitor the environment; and supply communications, global positioning and navigational systems throughout the world.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main Engines continue to launch astronauts and equipment bound for the International Space Station with 100 percent mission success. With the upcoming J-2X, RS-68 and Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine propulsion systems, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne stands poised to carry astronauts back to the moon and beyond.

The company is also expanding into hypersonics, developing a propulsion system for a hydrocarbon scramjet, a military plane that will travel at supersonic speeds greater than Mach 5, as well as propulsion systems that will help defend the nation against ballistic missile attacks.

Today, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne provides propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.

FMI: www.pratt-whitney.com