the californian company founded in 1960 . for the generic company topic see aerospace manufacturer . the aerospace corporation type not for profit corporation industry aerospace founded 1960 headquarters el segundo california united states key people wanda austin president and ceo number of employees 3600 website www.aerospace.org the aerospace corporation is a california nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center ffrdc headquartered in el segundo california . the corporation provides technical guidance and advice on all aspects of space missions to military civil and commercial customers to assure space mission success . 1 as the ffrdc for national security space aerospace works closely with organizations such as the united states air force space and missile systems center smc and the national reconnaissance office nro to provide objective technical analyses and assessments for space programs that serve the national interest . although smc and nro are the primary customers aerospace also performs work for civil agencies as well as international organizations and governments in the national interest . 2 contents 1 history 2 capabilities 3 organization 3.1 space systems group 3.2 engineering and technology group 3.3 national systems group 3.4 systems planning engineering and quality 3.5 center for orbital and reentry debris studies 3.6 vaeros 4 corporate governance 4.1 chief executive officers 4.2 board of trustees 5 references history edit on july 1 1954 the western development division wdd of the united states air force was established under the command of brig. gen. bernard a. schriever . wdd was responsible for the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile . the ramo wooldridge corporation rw was identified as the civilian organization responsible for systems engineering for the icbm program . their space technology laboratories stl was responsible for all missile tasks . despite early successes there was criticism from both government and industry on the role rw played as systems engineer in particular that rw held a privileged position with the air force . in 1958 rw merged with thompson products to become trw and the space technology laboratories became an independent subsidiary of trw but concerns regarding conflicts of interest persisted . in september 1959 united states congress issued house report 1121 which recommended that stl be converted into a non profit institution . 3 congress wanted the establishment of an organization free from conflict of interest to aid the air force in applying the full resources of modern science and technology to the problem of achieving those continuing advances in ballistic missiles and military space systems . 4 on june 3 1960 aerospace was established under the laws of the state of california as a nonprofit corporation . 5 on june 25 1960 at a press conference held at the u.s. air force ballistic missile division headquarters in el segundo california lt. gen. bernard a. schriever announced the formation of a new nonprofit organization the aerospace corporation to serve the air force in the scientific and technical planning and management of missile space programs . 6 among the earliest projects it supported were the dyna soar orbital spaceplane project mercury and the man rating of the atlas rocket intercontinental ballistic missile . the aerospace corporation provided general systems engineering and technical direction for the titan ii missile first tested in 1962 which became the launch vehicle for project gemini . other notable projects of the 1960s include the advanced ballistic re entry system abres the air force s manned orbiting laboratory mol the defense satellite communications system dscs and the defense support program dsp . during the 1970s aerospace began performing advance space program analysis and program studies for nasa s development of the space transportation system sts more commonly known as the space shuttle . aerospace also began tests on airborne uhf terminals for the air force satellite communications system afsatcom . in the mid 70s aerospace assumed general systems engineering and integration responsibility for the defense meteorological satellite program dmsp . beginning in 1973 a program office was established to assist the air force in the creation of the global positioning system gps . in recognition of their gps collaboration aerospace shared the 1992 robert j. collier trophy the nation s highest award for aeronautical achievement for the most significant development for safe and efficient navigation and surveillance of air and spacecraft since the introduction of radio navigation 50 years ago . 7 throughout the 1980s aerospace supported the inertial upper stage ius the strategic defense initiative sdi the milstar and dscs satellite communication systems and antisatellite asat programs . they provided planning design and evaluation for the air force satellite control network afscn and the consolidated space operations center at schriever air force base in colorado . during this same time period the company also provided systems engineering and integration for launch vehicles including the atlas titan ii titan iv and delta ii . in the 1990s aerospace participated in the planning and development of system requirements for the evolved expendable launch vehicle eelv program the next generation of launch vehicles . they continued to provide launch vehicle systems engineering for the atlas ii delta iii and titan ivb . satellite program support included wideband gapfiller space based laser the ultrahigh frequency follow on program and the global broadcast service . throughout the second half of the 90s the corporation conducted independent assessments for the international space station provided technical support for the cassini spacecraft and supported the acquisition of the space based infrared system sbirs satellite constellation . most recently the aerospace corporation provided further technical assistance to eelv programs including the atlas v and delta iv and supported planning for space radar to provide global persistent intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance to the department of defense . aerospace has been involved in the analysis of concept designs for the space tracking and surveillance system ssts . aerospace plays an integral role in the development of the advanced extremely high frequency aehf program that will replace the milstar system . another system that aerospace was supporting is the transformational satellite communications system milsatcom architecture to link military and reconnaissance communication networks . however it was cancelled per the recommendations of defense secretary robert m. gates due to dod budgetary constraints . 8 aerospace remains a significant partner in the continuing evolution of the gps system . aerospace has been playing a leading role in the planning and acquisition of geostationary operational environmental satellite for the national oceanic and atmospheric administration . in 2005 aerospace supported the air force affordable responsive spacelift ares launch system demonstration program . 4 capabilities edit the aerospace corporation as the ffrdc for national security space primarily supports the space and missile systems center of the air force space command as well as the national reconnaissance office . their 50 year history working side by side with these organizations has made aerospace the national memory and data repository for launch and satellite systems . they provide scientific and engineering support for launch space and related ground systems that serve the national interest . the department of defense has identified five core competencies for the aerospace ffrdc launch certification system of systems engineering systems development and acquisition process implementation and technology application . 9 aerospace also manages support to programs for nasa and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa as well as other civil and some commercial space customers . the aerospace corporation sponsors several annual conferences and workshops including planetary defense space systems engineering space power and spacecraft thermal control . organization edit space systems group edit the space systems group works with the air force government and industry partners to develop military satellites and advanced national security satellite systems . it oversees four major spacecraft and space system areas communications surveillance weather and navigation . 10 much emphasis is placed upon the life cycle for systems as space programs are designed acquired and fielded . the space systems group also includes space launch operations which supports air force and nro launch programs by monitoring and collecting data from national security launches . it is responsible for conducting the aerospace independent launch readiness verification process for legacy and eelv launches . this group focuses on lessons learned data and best practices sharing among launch programs . 2 engineering and technology group edit the engineering and technology group is aerospace s core science and engineering organization providing cross program technical support to a variety of military civil commercial and corporate projects . consisting of nearly half of the company s technical force the group is made up of six specialty organizations laboratory operations communications and networking division computers and software division electronics and sensors division systems engineering division vehicle systems division . 11 members of etg assess and evaluate existing and new space technologies investigate and resolve anomalies and conduct research and development . national systems group edit the national systems group is responsible for systems engineering and integrations support for nro space programs . through methods such as technical and engineering analyses concept design studies and direct on site support they provide planning development and deployment services for reconnaissance space systems . 10 nsg s focus is to apply a systems engineering approach to national intelligence programs to provide objective technical recommendations and solutions . systems planning engineering and quality edit systems planning engineering and quality provides customer support to all national security space programs . activities within the group include requirements analysis cross mission planning and architecture development strategic awareness planning cross program engineering and systems acquisition development . 10 center for orbital and reentry debris studies edit the company also maintains the center for orbital and reentry debris studies cords . the group is unique in that it is the only one that systematically tests fallen space debris in its laboratory the size and shape of debris along with melting that occurs during reentry is analyzed with sophisticated computer software in an effort reconstruct its fall . information learned during analysis is used to help satellite developers design for demise or ensure that debris burns up more completely during reentry . 12 13 the team received the 1992 nasa group achievement award for their work on understanding the breakup characteristics of the space shuttle external tank . 14 vaeros edit vaeros formerly the civil & commercial organization is a division of the aerospace corporation that supports both developing and operational civil space systems for nasa the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa as well as addressing difficult systems engineering problems in military civil and commercial applications . commercially the group supports satellite owner operators spacecraft manufacturers insurance companies and space consulting and legal firms . 2 it plays a key role in spacecraft operations acquisition planning strategic planning acquisition management and risk assessment for operational near term and future noaa satellite programs . 10 corporate governance edit chief executive officers edit 1960 1977 ivan a. getting 1977 1987 eberhardt rechtin 1987 1991 samuel tennant 1992 2001 edward c. aldridge jr. 2001 2007 william f. ballhaus jr. 15 2008 2016 wanda austin ; 16 president until august 1 2016 ; ceo until october 1 2016 2016 present steve isakowitz ; president as of august 1 2016 ; ceo as of october 1 2016 board of trustees edit peter b. teets chairman 17 barbara m. barrett vice chairman wanda austin president and ceo kevin p. chilton usaf ret . david m. dicarlo michael b. donley bonnie j. dunbar keith r. hall daniel e. hastings tina w. jonas john e. mclaughlin michael montelongo george k. muellner usaf ret . elisabeth pate cornell jeffrey h. smith esq. k. anne street vincent vitto alan wade robert smith walker references edit articles of incorporation . the aerospace corporation . 1960 . a b c 2006 annual report pdf . the aerospace corporation . 2007 . the aerospace corporation its work 1960 1980 pages 12 17 . library of congress catalogue card no. 80 67774 a b aerospace history timeline . retrieved 2007