Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate heavily involved in the space industry. As a prime contractor for NASA, the company was responsible for manufacturing the Space Shuttle orbiter, including its main engines, and the Saturn V rocket engines used in the Apollo program. They also developed and manufactured the Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.
Identity changes, mergers, acquisitions, splits, and transferred business lines.
2 events
Scope: Rockwell International aerospace and defense segment
Boeing records that it purchased Rockwell International's aerospace and defense segment in December 1996; the official source does not state a more precise completion date.
Rockwell-Standard Corporation (an automotive/industrial parts manufacturer) made a $922 million bid for North American Aviation (P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, X-15, Apollo CSM, Saturn V second stage) in March 1967; after Justice Department review, the merger completed in Sept 1967 as North American Rockwell (the smaller Rockwell-Standard, $636M sales, took over the larger North American, $2.37B sales). Renamed Rockwell International in Feb 1973. Rockwell International's aerospace/defense divisions (including North American Aviation's Autonetics and Rocketdyne units) were sold to Boeing in Dec 1996 (see related event); the remaining automation business became Rockwell Automation.