10 Companies that Sent America to the Moon

JULY 20 marked the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon. Naturally, the celebrations and coverage will focus on the heroic astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who manned that risky mission, not to mention the engineers that backed them.

But one often-overlooked facet of the Apollo program is the industrial and technical might required of private industry to get those astronauts into space, onto the moon's surface, and then safely home. And it took plenty of know-how and money to get them there.

See 10 companies that sent America to the moon

NASA spent $19.5 billion on the Apollo project. (NASA’s budget for 2008 was small in comparison at $17 billion.) Among other things, the money went to private companies that made everything from the rockets that launched the astronauts into space, to the space suits they wore while floating in zero gravity.

SmartMoney took a look at those companies to find out where they are now, and one overwhelming trend emerged: consolidation. NASA made a particular effort to get smaller companies involved in the Apollo project, according to the agency’s contract archivist, Liz Suckow. But over the years many of those once-independent firms were swallowed up by bigger companies and eventually became part of conglomerates like Boeing (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NOC).

“I worked for 5 different companies without leaving my desk,” says Stan Barauskas, who worked on the rockets that allowed for small adjustments that kept the Apollo spacecraft on its intended path. He started out with North American Aviation in 1963, which merged with Rockwell Standard Corp. in 1967 and eventually was acquired by Boeing in the mid-1990s.

Such consolidation, however, can stifle the type of innovation that made not only the moon landing, but also many everyday technologies, possible. With fewer companies, there have been fewer job opportunities for the engineers and scientists who've been trained to develop those new technologies.

As the civilian veterans of the Apollo program retire, Sterner says, few are available to replace them. “We lose [engineers] at the same time that countries like China are building them up,” he says. “The guys [in China] are in their 30s, it looks like NASA did in the 60’s. They’re building a whole generation of engineers. You look at our guys, they’re in their 60s.”

But that doesn’t mean innovation has come to a complete standstill. Private industry is again using its intellectual capital to look for ways to get man to the moon. “There’s still a lot of innovation happening, it’s just not happening in the traditional aerospace companies,” says Sterner. “You’ve got this whole generation of small companies that are kind of coming out of left field, they’re start-ups, but they’re financed well enough to actually make things happen and be innovative."

Companies like Space-X, Blue Origins, or Virgin Galactic, created by Richard Branson in 2004, are looking for ways to promote so-called space tourism.

To celebrate the anniversary of the Apollo's 1969 landing, here are 10 companies that worked with NASA to make it possible for astronauts to set foot on the moon – and to eat peaches and bacon while they were up there.
North American Aviation
What the company made: Saturn V’s second stage and command and service modules

What it did: Saturn V was the rocket that launched the Apollo spacecraft into orbit. The command module served as the astronauts’ control center and living quarters and it was the only part of the spacecraft recovered at the end of the mission. The service module housed the propulsion systems and also stored oxygen, water, and fuel. It was jettisoned and burned up upon re-entry.

Where the company is now: Founded in 1928, North American Aviation merged with Rockwell Standard in 1967, becoming North American Rockwell Corp. After the Apollo program, the company continued to work with NASA on the space shuttle. In 1973, the company became North American Aircraft Operations, a division of Rockwell International. And in 1996, it was acquired by Boeing. Boeing now makes rockets that launch NASA satellites, as well as commercial GPS satellites.

David Silver, an analyst with Wall Street Strategies, says aerospace and defense work is a growing part of Boeing’s business. “Once the economy begins to improve I think you’re going to see a larger investment in science not just from the US but from countries around the world,” he says.

Grumman Corp.
What the company made: The lunar module

What it did: The lunar module was the part of the Apollo spacecraft that landed on the moon.

Where the company is now: Founded in 1930 as the Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Company, Grumman Corporation was acquired by Northrop Corp. in 1994, to form Northrop Grumman. The company’s Aerospace Systems division today generates roughly $10 billion in revenue and employs about 24,000 people. It continues to work with NASA, recently building the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, which did a swing-by maneuver of the moon on June 23, as part of a continuing search for ice.

However, Northrop Grumman’s work with NASA doesn’t have much more room to grow, says Brian Ruttenbur, an analyst for Morgan, Keegan, & Co. While defense budgets continue to grow by 4 to 5% a year, NASA’s budget is only growing by 1 or 2% a year, he says. “On the space side, I just don’t see much growth there for the next three or four years,” Ruttenbur says. “It’s not something the Obama administration is waving a flag over.”

Rocketdyne
What the company made: Rocket engines for the Saturn V

What it did: Rocketdyne built the large engines at the very bottom of the Saturn V rocket, as well as others that helped to propel the Apollo spacecraft into space.

Where the company is now: At the time of the Apollo program, Rocketdyne was part of North American Aviation. It was bought by Rockwell Corporation in 1967. Rockwell was later acquired by Boeing in 1996. Boeing then sold the Rocketdyne division to Pratt & Whitney in 2005, which is now a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp (UTX).

At the time of the Apollo project, Rocketdyne had about 20,000 employees in California and around the country. The workforce was pared down after the program came to an end. Rocketdyne now has about 3,500 employees making rocket engines for NASA'S space shuttle program.

IBM
What the company made: The Real-time Computer Complex

What it did: IBM (IBM) provided computers for multiple locations, including Cape Canaveral, Fla. and Houston, that processed the data needed for Mission Control to direct the Saturn V rocket and Apollo spacecraft. In real time, the computers compared the spacecraft’s actual activities to the mission plan.

Where the company is now: IBM developed computers for NASA before there was a NASA. It worked for the agency’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The company continues to work with NASA and recently developed a new supercomputer that will be used for weather simulations.

Douglas Aircraft Company
What the company made: Rocket booster for Saturn V’s third stage, the SIVB

What it did: Saturn V’s third stage had a single engine that burned liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The rocket's engine burned once at 115 miles altitude and once again to help place the spacecraft in orbit around the moon.

Where the company is now: Douglas Aircraft Co. was incorporated in 1928 and merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corp. to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967. McDonnell Douglas merged with its longtime rival, Boeing, in 1997 -- shortly after Boeing acquired North American Rockwell.

ILC Dover
What the company made: Space suits

What it did: Space suits for the Apollo program were one-piece suits custom-tailored to each astronaut. Each crew member had a suit for training, a suit for the mission, and a back-up suit, -- as did the back-up crew.

Where the company is now: ILC Dover started making suits for use at high altitudes for the Air Force in the 1950s. The key was making the suits flexible under high-pressure conditions. The experience helped ILC Dover win the contract to build space suits for the Apollo program in 1965. At that point, the bulk of the company’s revenue came from space suit production. In addition to the moon landing, ILC Dover also played a role in another iconic aspect of the 1960s: it made riot gear for police use during protests. The company has since diversified. It now makes chemical and biological protection suits, blimps, and inflatable devices for the military, as well as suits for the space shuttle program.

General Motors
What the company made: Guidance computers, accelerometers, and gyroscopes for the lunar module; batteries that powered the lunar module

What it did: GM’s computers guided the Apollo capsule, and its batteries powered the lunar module’s descent to the surface of the moon, since burning rocket fuel was considered too risky at that point.

The guidance computer developed for the Apollo program became known as the Carousel and served as the forerunner of computers that were later used on jets and rockets that launch satellites into space. General Motors also built the electric vehicle that later Apollo astronauts drove on lunar surface exploration missions: “The only car on the moon is by GM,” says Jon Bereisa, the Director of Advanced Engineering for GM’s Fuel Cell Propulsion Systems, who worked on the Carousel computer. Bereisa says the technology developed for that lunar vehicle helped provide a basis for the upcoming Chevy Volt.

Where the company is now: The now struggling auto maker divested its last remaining aerospace division in 1997. In recent years, GM has been battered by an ailing auto market. In June, the nearly 101-year-old company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It quickly emerged in early July – but not without paying a hefty price. The U.S. government now owns almost 61% of the “New GM.” The company divested its last remaining aerospace division in 1997.

Goodyear Aerospace Corp.
What the company made: Engine compartment conditioning system for Saturn V’s second stage

What it did: Maintained proper temperature in the engine compartment.

Where the company is now: Originally a subsidiary of Goodyear (GT), Goodyear Aerospace initially made zeppelins, then moved onto aircraft, and eventually NASA's space program. Goodyear Aerospace was sold to Loral in 1987. Then Lockheed Martin (LMT) bought Loral in 1996. Lockheed continues to work on the space shuttle program, which will continue for another 10 years, says Morgan, Keegan's Ruttenbur. He estimates that about 18% of Lockheed’s revenue is from its space business, but a large part of that business is satellites.

Whirlpool
What the company made: Space kitchen and freeze-dried food

What it did: The space kitchen appliances stored and reconstituted the various freeze-dried meals the astronauts ate during the mission.

Where the company is now:Whirlpool (WHR) started developing space flight food and food systems in 1957. They also developed a prop space kitchen for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Much of the technology that was developed for the space program was the property of the United States, so not all of it found its way into future Whirlpool products. But the water gun that rehydrated the astronauts’ food is a forerunner of the technology that allows your refrigerator to fill up your water glass. And today’s efficient Energy Star appliances owe something to the space program’s demand for systems that used power sparingly. In 1985, the company decided to focus on its core programs, and hasn’t been a contractor for NASA since.

Westinghouse Corp.
What the company made: Lunar Camera

What it did: The Lunar Camera was used on the surface of the moon to capture the images of Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind.” The camera used on the moon had to be able to withstand temperatures from 250 degrees above Fahrenheit to 300 below. At a time when the average TV camera weighed upwards of 150 pounds, this camera weighed 7 pounds, used less power than a Christmas tree bulb, and could be operated by a man in a space suit. Using technology developed for the Department of Defense it could also operate in extremely low light.

Where the company is now: Westinghouse was founded in 1886. The division of the company that had made the camera, was bought by Northrop Grumman in 1996.
[Reply]