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33°55′47″N118°23′30″W / 33.9296521°N 118.3917403°W /33.9296521; -118.3917403
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| Predecessor | Hughes Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1961  |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Satellites |
| Parent | Boeing Defense, Space & Security,Boeing |
| Website | www |
TheBoeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit ofBoeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics'Space and Communications division inEl Segundo, California.
The facility was originally built byNash Motors in 1946 and begun production in 1948, building theNash Rambler.Howard Hughes'Hughes Aircraft Company formed the Aerospace Group within the company when they bought the facility in 1955,[1] when the Nash company becameAmerican Motors Corporation and divided the facility into:
In 1953, theHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) was formed, and Hughes Aircraft reformed as a subsidiary of the foundation. The charity status of the foundation allowed Hughes Aircraft to avoid taxes on its huge income.
In 1961, the two Aerospace Group divisions were reformed asHughes Space and Communications Company. Hughes Space and Communications Company launched the first geosynchronous communications satellite,Syncom, in 1963.
On 5 April 1976,Howard Hughes died at the age of 70, leaving no will. In 1984, theDelaware Court of Chancery appointed eight trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who decided to sell Hughes Aircraft toGeneral Motors for US$5.2 billion—this transaction was completed in 1985. GM merged Hughes Aircraft with itsDelco Electronics unit to formHughes Electronics. This group then consisted of:
In 1995, Hughes Space and Communications Company became the world's biggest supplier of commercial satellites. In 1997 GM transferred Delco Electronics fromHughes Electronics to itsDelphi Automotive Systems and later in the year sold the aerospace and defense operations of Hughes Electronics (Hughes Aircraft) toRaytheon.
Hughes Space and Communications Company remained independent until 2000, when it was purchased by Boeing and becameBoeing Satellite Development Center.
In 2005, Boeing Satellite Systems soldBoeing Electron Dynamic Devices to L3 communications.
Hughes added the following to Boeing's portfolio:
The purchase of Hughes Space and Communications Company in 2000 gave Boeing an impressive range of products for design, manufacture, launch and support of satellites. This was in addition to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' other space assets, e.g.Delta launch vehicles, older-generationGPS satellites, andRocketdyne andRockwell's space operations (which include much of the hardware used in NASA's crewed space program, such as the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, rocket engines, etc.)
Currently projects at the Boeing Satellite Development Center (spacecraft being designed, built, tested, or prepared for launch) are satellites made forXM (satellite radio),DirecTV (satellite television),MSV (satellite mobile telephony),Spaceway (data networks),GPS (satellite navigation), and for theWideband Global SATCOM system (military communications). Designs forISAT (military orbital radar demonstrator), for additionalGOES satellites (meteorology), and for other spacecraft, are currently being developed and proposed.
