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NASA INDUSTRIAL PLANT , DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA
CHRONOLOGY OF HISTORICAL USAGE
Appendix A provides a chronological overview of activities that have been performed at the NASA Industrial Plant, Downey, California. Information incorporated was obtained from historical summaries provided by Rockwell and NASA. Information contained in these historical summaries has not been verified and cannot be validated for accuracy.
| DATE | DESCRIPTION |
Pre-1929 | Facility is a ranch operated by James Hughan. Land area was a combination of orange orchards (Communique`, 1983) and plowed fields. Windmill operated water well is associated with the ranch house and barn (pre-1929 photograph). |
| 1929, May | 72.45 acres of land transferred to E. M. Smith who formed Emsco Aircraft Corporation. Emsco blossoms to a two-runway airport with a manufacturing facility and a flying school (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1932 | Emsco Plant is idle and is leased to Champion Aircraft Corporation for eight months. The facility is then leased to Curtiss Manufacturing of Los Angeles for the assembly of trucks, busses, and airplanes (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1933, February | W.B. Kinner forms Security National Aircraft Corporation and takes over the Downey facility to manufacture special folded-wing, single-engine aircraft. Three planes were sold and Kinner abandoned the plant (Unauthored, 1988). |
| Post 1933 - 1936? | Baker Oil Tool Company operates the facility (Unauthored, 1988). Information on their operations was not available; possibly manufactured tools for the oil industry. |
| 1936 | Jerry Vultee creates Vultee Aircraft Corporation, a division of Aviation Manufacturing Company, manufactured the V-ll a single-engine attack bomber that was sold to Spain, China, Latin America, and the Middle-East (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1941 | Vultee Aircraft acquires a large minority interest of Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego and forms Consolidated-Vultee, and later Convair (Barton,1988). These two plants produced more than 13,000 aircraft during the war (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1940 - 1941 | The United States Army Air Corps acquired 93.7 acres of land adjacent to the Convair facility and constructed 644,700 square feet of factory space. Convair added about 178,000 square feet to its working area. Overall, the facility was expanded from 84,000 square feet to 906,700 square feet (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1946 | Consolidated-Vultee received a contract in 1946 to study a long-range missile program called the MX-774 Program. The program was canceled in July, 1946 (Murray, 1981). Doors of the Convair Downey facility closed shortly thereafter (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1948 | North American Aviation (NAA) leased the Convair-owned and government-owned properties. The Convair property is used for storage and the govenrment property is used for manufacturing aircraft. The Aerophysics Laboratory, which consisted of a rocket propulsion, electronics, nuclear power, and aerodynamic space-type hardware research is housed at Downey (Unauthored, 1988). · NAA works on the MX-770 missile system. Downey operations are renamed Missile and Control Equipment Division (MACE) and are dedicated to missile technology (Barton, 1988). |
| 1949 | First high-thrust liquid rocked engine is constructed. Early investigations at Downey show that nuclear-powered missiles would be premature; therefore, NAA diverts their Aerophysics Laboratory work to commercial applications. The first water boiler-type nuclear reactor is put together at the Downey laboratory. The reactor had the ability to power a flashlight (Murray, 1981). |
| 1950 | NAA purchased the Convair property (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1953, September | NAA exchanged the property north of Imperial Highway in Downey to the government and the property south of Imperial Highway and Aviation Boulevard by Los Angeles International Airport is deeded to NAA. The Downey facility became known as United States Air Force (USAF) Plant #16. NAA is awarded a facility contract to maintain, refurbish and expand the site (Unauthored, 1988). The Navaho supersonic cruise missile program, USAF Weapons System-104A (WS-104A), begins from 1953 to 1957 (Unauthored, 1988; Barton. 1988). The Downey facility develops the prototype (X-10), the rocket booster and ramjet (XSM-64), and a full-scale Navaho (SM-64). The Navaho results in the development of the chem-milling process and brazing of stainless steel sandwiches (honey combed metal) to develop a light-weight metal frame. In addition, the technology for welding pressurized aluminum alloy tanks is developed. Technology from the Navaho is also used to develop the Redstone engine (Barton, 1988). |
| 1955 | NAA divides into its various divisions and moves them off-site. The Missile Division (space elements) and Autonetics Division (electronics and avionics) remain at Downey. Rocketdyne (rocket-fueled propulsion engines) and Atomics International (commercial nuclear power generation) divisions move to Canoga Park in San Femando Valley (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1957 | USAF Plant #16 is about 1,453,137 square feet (Unauthored, 1988): The Hound Dog, Weapon Systems-131(WS-131) air-to-surface missile program is launched (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1958 | Space Act of 1958 is passed, which created the National Space Council and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Barton, 1ggg). |
| 1959 | NAA received the contracts for the Little Joe launch vehicle, which consisted of a launcher, booster, and full-scale capsules to be used in
the development of the Mercury program (Barton, 1988) |
| 1960 | NAA reorganizes the Downey facility into the Space and Information Systems Division (S&ID). The Downey facility offices are remodeled (Unauthored, 1988; Barton, 1988). |
| 1961 | NAA received contracts to build the Saturn S-II launch vehicle and the Apollo Command and Service Module. NAA receives another facility contract from USAF (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1962 | Downev plant has 250,000 square feet of manufacturing and test facilities added for the Saturn and Apollo programs. The Autonetics Division departs to Anaheim and its vacated offices are transferred to these programs (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1964 | The USAF Plant #16 is transferred to NASA, as NASA Plant #1. NAA receives a facility contract from NASA (Unauthored, 1988). |
| 1965 - 1966 | NASA plant #1 facilities are expanded for the Apollo program (Unauthored 1988). Construction included Buildings 288 and 290. A S-II Pressurization System Facility is constructed in the area just north of Building 288 (Barton, 1988). |
| 1967 | NAA merges with Rockwell Standard forming North American Rockwell (NAR). The S&ID name is changed to Space Division (Murray, 1981; Unauthored 1985). |
| 1969 | NAR is awarded the Space Station contract. |
| Early 1970s | NASA's
facilities cover about 1.7 million square feet and the
Rockwell facility covers about 450,000 square feet. The Downey
facility is about 200 acres. In 1970, Rockwell sells two buildings
located south of lmperial Highway to Los Angeles County
(Unauthored, 1988; Unauthored, 1995). Also in 1970, a Rotational
Research Facility is constructed to evaluate the effects of rotation on
a human's ability to perform operational risks. The Skylab program
originally called Apollo Applications Programs is embarked. |
| 1972 | Rockwell is contracted to design, develop, test and evaluate the Space Transportation Systems (STS), also known as the Space Shuttle program (Unauthored, 1988). The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) design development and testing are undertaken (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1973 | NAR and Rockwell Manufacnging merge to form Rockwell International (Rockwell). Rockwell is awarded the Navstar global positioning system satellite program (Rockwell News, 1983; Unauthored, 1985). |
| 1974 | Full-scale
mock up is made of Shuttle located at the NASA Downey facility, in
Building 001,just west of the DEI room (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1978 | Rockwell is working on the Space Shuttle Orbiter's development (Barton, 1988). |
| 1979 | Space Division receives contract to modify the Space Shuttle Orbiters (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1980s | Downey Space Division is renamed Space Transportation Systems Division (STSD) (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1981 - 1986 | Rockwell constructs four Shuttle spacecraft. A fifth shuttle constructed was used for approach and landing test (Unauthored, 1988). Completion dates for the Shuttles are: Columbia, March 1979; Challenger, June 1982; Discovery, October 1983; Atlantis, April 1985; and Enterprise, September 1976. The majority of the engineering and manufacturing are accomplished at Downey and final assembly is at Palmdale (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1987 - 1991 | Endeavor is constructed to replace the Challenger. The Space Station Freedom program is being worked on (Rockwell News, 1983). |
| 1992 | Activities at Downey are consolidated (Unauthored, 1995). |
| 1995 | Rockwell
is developing several new space surveillance and anti-missile defense
systems for the Department of Defense (DoD) and, is the
prime contractor for the Airforce Navistar GPS Block II/IIA
Satellites and launch vehicles X-33 and X-34 (Unauthored, 1995).
Mid-1995, the manufacturing facilities are relocated and
consolidated at the Palmdale facility. Shuttle tooling from off-site subcontractors and a Bell, Caliifornia warehouse are placed in storage at various locations at the Downey facility (Unauthored, 1995). |
NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION, TNC,
AND ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL
ANNUAL REPORT S
REFERENCES
AND ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL
ANNUAL REPORT S
REFERENCES
The following information was gathered from selected annual reports reviewed between 1950 and 1972. The dates reviewed and description of activities are listed below.
| Date | Information |
| 1950 | 23rd Annual Report, 1950; T-28 Air Force Trainer Assembly shifted to Downey
|
| 1951 | T-28 and F86 manufacturing and assembly some employment aerophysics electromechanical and atomic energy research, departments use laboratory at Downey |
| 1952 |
|
| 1953 | T28 transfer to T-28B, testing/design rocket; guided missiles testing of rockets with inert fluids |
| 1954 | Facility sold to government NAA leases; MACE missile and control equipment program. The company's Nuclear Development group moved in 1955 to San Fernando Valley. T28B production to be moved to Columbus. |
| 1955 | Downey - Development of supersonic unmanned vehicles, announce to develop SM-64 Navaho - long range surface-to-surface missile designed for strategic missions; Rocketdyne moving to Canoga Park. |
| 1956 |
|
| 1957 | July 57 Navaho terminated |
| 1958 | GAM·77 air to'surface miissile development for Air Force B-52 jet bomber supersonic missile X-10 research tests |
| 1959 | GPLM-77 Hound Dog missile development; initial flight launched from B-52 bombers Booster vehicles |
| 1960 | GAM-77 Hound Dog |
| 1961 | A-3-J Vigilante attach plane GAM-77 Hound Dog air to surface B-70 Valyrie (Space information and Systems Division) Hound Dog can deliver nuclear payload AJ3 plane T39 Saturn space systems, Little Joe boosters Mercury |
| 1962 | SISD chosen for Apollo Space craft Apollo awarded Brazed honeycomb panels |
| 1963 | Apollo, astronaut testing, Saturn V, chips |
| 1964 | Apollo drop test anthromorphic Elecetronic Dummy used, chip began paraglider program, USAF transfer plant to NASA |
| 1965 | Apollo Rotational facility Saturn V Apollo stack |
| 1972 | Space shuttle awarded |