has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . december 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . december 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message astronautics corporation of america type private industry aerospace and defense founded 1959 milwaukee wi headquarters milwaukee usa key people nathaniel k. zelazo founder dr. ronald e. zelazo ceo chad cundiff president stephen givant cfo products commercial airliners military aircraft space systems computer services number of employees 1 800 subsidiaries kearfott corporation astronautics c.a. ltd. website astronautics.com astronautics corporation of america aca is a us supplier designer and manufacturer of avionics equipment to airlines governments commercial and defense aircraft manufacturers and other avionics systems integrators established in 1959 . products are used for air sea ground missile and space applications . over 150 000 aircraft have been equipped with astronautics equipment . astronautics products electronic flight instrument systems electronic flight bags engine indicating and crew alerting systems network server systems multifunction displays mission and display processors and systems flight directors flight control systems inertial guidance systems air data computers and autopilots . contents 1 history 2 products 3 references 4 external links history edit in june 1959 in milwaukee wisconsin brother and sister nate zelazo and norma paige started the astronautics corporation of america as an advanced technology aerospace company . zelazo had been employed by the navy department and the company s small staff had an extensive background in designing and developing flight instrumentation . the company began to seek business with the military initially working with local universities and obtained a program from the us air force investigating fuel management techniques for space vehicle orbital rendezvous . it later sought further involvement in navy army and air force flight instrumentation production programs . nate zelazo founder in front of one of his earlier projects in the latter half of the 1960s astronautics received backing from the american city bank and trust company which became bankrupt in the 1973 75 recession ; zelazo hired its former ceo pete erickson as astronautics cfo in 1976 . erickson worked for the company for the thirteen years until his retirement investing in the stock and bond market and arranging the purchase of a corporate building on teutonia avenue in the city s west side in 1982 still the company s headquarters . he also handled the financial side of the purchase of astronautics subsidiary kearfott corporation in 1988 from singer corporation . after participating in several production programs for aircraft flight instruments for the military astronautics developed a design and production capability and began supplying flight instrumentation for aircraft such as the b 52 f 4 a 4 c 130 uh 1 p 3 and many others . this capability was soon expanded to provide the complete flight director systems which included the flight director computer for several military aircraft . as military flight instrumentation advanced astronautics began competing for the cathode ray tube crt technology that was being applied to aircraft instrumentation . the company entered into a contract to provide the horizontal situation display hsd for the air force f 111 aircraft . this display program which combined crt and optical technologies resulted in further expansion of astronautics engineering quality reliability production and contract administration departments . astronautics then also developed the head up display for both the a 10 aircraft and the shuttle trainer aircraft . astronautics then supplied medical monitors for cat scanners and also supplied displays to nasa for the mission control center in houston texas . astronautics became an avionics supplier to the italian german and british governments for their high performance aircraft . astronautics then made developments in flat panel displays and digital avionics . the company supplied both military and civilian aircraft with avionics and airborne servers . after acquiring kearfott guidance & navigation corporation in 1988 astronautics provided inertial navigation systems for space and maritime use . astronautics produced a low end supercomputer the zs 1 designed by james smith of the university of wisconsin ; one was manufactured but the model did not sell and is exhibited at the rhode island computer museum . products edit astronautics major product lines include integrated avionics system displays crt and flat panel electronic flight bag mission & display processors electronic flight instrument system engine indicating & crew alerting systems electromechanical navigation & flight instruments control and display units control consoles airborne file servers network server systems air data computers flap control systems high accuracy guidance and navigation systems fire control thermal imaging systems enhanced vision systems gyroscopes resolvers synchros motors actuators magnetic refrigeration worldwide maintenance services references edit fumo joe february 1986 . astronautics a low profile company with a high tech reputation wisconsin business . decker eric april 17 2006 . ventures blue ocean strategies biz times . may 17 2005 boeing names astronautics to 787 dreamliner partner team http www.boeing.com commercial news 2005 q2 nr 050517h.html external links edit astronautics.com retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title astronautics corporation of america & oldid 743559121 categories aerospace companies of the united statescompanies based in wisconsincompanies based in milwaukeedefense companies of the united statesmultinational aircraft manufacturershidden categories articles lacking in text citations from december 2014all articles lacking in text citationsarticles with a promotional tone from december 2014all articles with a promotional tonepages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 05 36 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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