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| Industry | Aerospace,Manufacturing,Chemicals |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 5, 1929 |
| Defunct | 2007, succeeded byOrbital ATK; and later acquired byNorthrop Grumman |
| Fate | Purchased by ATK Launch Systems Group |
| Headquarters | Ogden, Utah, US |
| Products | Rocket engines,Snowcats |
Number of employees | 15,000 |
| Parent | Cordant Technologies |
Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is aportmanteau of theGreek words forsulfur (Greek:θεῖον,romanized: theion) andglue (Greek:κόλλα,romanized: kolla), an allusion to the company's initial product,Thiokol polymer.
The Thiokol Chemical Company was founded in 1929. Its initial business was a range of synthetic rubber and polymer sealants. Thiokol was a major supplier of liquidpolymer sealants duringWorld War II. When scientists at theJet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that Thiokol's polymers made ideal binders for solid rocket fuels, Thiokol moved into the new field, opening laboratories atElkton, Maryland, and later production facilities at Elkton and atRedstone Arsenal inHuntsville, Alabama. Huntsville produced the XM33 Pollux, TX-18 Falcon, andTX-135 Nike-Zeus systems. It closed in 1996. In the mid-1950s the company bought extensive lands inUtah for its rocket test range.
Thiokol was involved in two major accidents with loss of life. On February 3, 1971, at a Thiokol chemical plant southeast ofWoodbine, Georgia, a fire entered a storage facility holding nearly five tons of ignition pellets, flares, and other highly flammable materials.The facility exploded, killing 29 people and severely wounding more than 50 others, many with severed limbs. Windows were shattered 11 miles (18 km) away and the explosion was heard for 50 miles (80 km) around.[1] Georgia law prevented the employees from suing their employer because they were covered byworkers' compensation insurance.[2]
On January 28, 1986, theSpace ShuttleChallengerexploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members.An investigation found the cause to be two failedO-ring seals in the Space Shuttle's rightsolid rocket booster, which had been manufactured by Morton Thiokol. Test data from as early as 1977 had revealed a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings in cold conditions, but neither Morton Thiokol norNASA assessed or corrected the problem. Shortly before takeoff, several Morton Thiokol engineers recommended delaying the launch until temperatures atCape Canaveral warmed, but they were overruled by company management.[3][4]
In 1926, two chemists,Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin, were trying to invent an inexpensiveantifreeze. In the course of an experiment involvingethylene dichloride andsodium polysulfide, they created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odor.[5] The substance clogged a sink in the laboratory, and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. The frustrated chemists realized that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented asynthetic rubber, which they christened "Thiokol".[6]In 1929, Bevis Longstreth, an executive atMorton Salt, founded the Thiokol Corporation in Trenton, New Jersey. He became its president and general manager.[7]
Longstreth died in 1944, leaving the position of president and general manager open. William Crosby became general manager.[7]The next year, in 1945,Charles Bartley, working for the nascentJet Propulsion Laboratory, discovered the use of thiokol as a stabilizer insolid-fuel rockets.[8]In 1948, a plant inElkton, Maryland was opened, producing solid rocket motors.[9]In 1949, Thiokol produced the TX-18 Falcon missile, the world's first solid-fueled missile system.[10]
In 1957, anticipating the forthcoming Minuteman contract, the company built its plant at Brigham City, Utah,and Thiokol Huntsville began buildingXM33 Pollux missiles.
In 1958, Thiokol merged withReaction Motors Inc. (RMI), makers of liquid propellant rocket motor systems.[11]Also in 1958, Thiokol received a contract to build the TU-122 rocket motor for the first stage of theLGM-30 MinutemanICBM system.In 1959, Thiokol Huntsville began producing CASTOR strap-on booster rocket, used on theAtlas rocket.
In 1964, theWoodbine, Georgia plant was constructed to build solid propellant motors forNASA, but the agency changed course and used liquid fuel.[12]
In 1969, Thiokol was awarded a U.S. Army contract to manufacture 750,000Tripflares for use in theVietnam War.[12]In 1971, anexplosion in the magnesium flare assembly facility at the Woodbine plant killed 29 and injured 50.[12]In 1974, Thiokol won the contract tobuild thesolid rocket booster (SRB) for theSpace Shuttle (Nov 29, 1973).In 1975, Thiokol succeededSperry Rand as operator of the largeLouisiana Army Ammunition Plant nearMinden,Louisiana.In 1978, the company sold itsski lift division toCTEC and its snow equipment division toLogan Manufacturing Company (LMC), owned byJohn DeLorean.
In 1980, Thiokol acquiredCarlisle Chemical Company ofCincinnati, Ohio.In 1982, Thiokol merged with Morton-Norwich products (owners of theMorton Salt concern, theSimoniz automotive products brand, and various chemical concerns) with the merged company called Morton Thiokol Incorporated (MTI).[13][14]
In 1986, anO-ring fault in an MTI SRBdestroyedSpace ShuttleChallenger in flight. The company was found at fault for the destruction ofChallenger and deaths of the astronauts, as a direct result of pressure from NASA to launch, based on inconclusive evidence of the failure ofO-rings on thesolid rocket boosters when subject to freezing temperatures. (SeeSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster).
In 1989, Morton Thiokol split, with most of the chemical concern going with Morton but the propulsion systems division became Thiokol Inc.Then in 1998, Thiokol changed its name to Cordant Technologies.Also in 1998, Thiokol branded polymer products purchased by PolySpec L.P., a Houston-based manufacturer of industrial coatings, marine decking, and subsea insulation products.
In 2000, Thiokol merged with two divisions ofAlcoa and withHowmet Castings andHuck Fasteners to becomeAIC Group (Alcoa Industrial Components).In 2001,Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Inc. (a company formed whenHoneywell spun off its defense division) spent $2.9 billion buying Thiokol and related businesses from AIC/Alcoa. ATK built the third stage of theTrident missile and had earlier boughtHercules Aerospace Co., builder of the second stage. With the purchase of Thiokol, makers of the missile's first stage, ATK controlled the lion's share of the US solid rocket-fuel market.In 2005, ATK-Thiokol won the contract to produce theAres Ilaunch vehicle first stage forNASA'sProject Constellation.[15]
In 2006,Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Inc. was renamed ATK-Thiokol and then ATK Launch Systems Group.In 2014,Orbital ATK was formed from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems.In 2018, Orbital ATK was purchased byNorthrop Grumman.
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Products made by the aerospace divisions of RMI and Thiokol include motors used inSubroc, thePershing missile, thePeacekeeper missile,Poseidon missile,Minuteman missile, and the Trident I and Trident II missiles. Thiokol produces powerplants for numerous U.S. military missile systems, includingAIM-9 Sidewinder,AGM-88 HARM,AGM-65 Maverick,AGM-69 SRAM, andAIR-2 Genie.
Thiokol also produced a variety of liquid andsolid rocket motors for theUS space program, including deorbit motors for theMercury andGemini programs, rocket stages and separation rocket motors for theApollo program, motors for thePioneer,Surveyor,Viking,Voyager, andMagellan missions, updated CASTOR boosters for theDelta rocket, and theSpace Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster. Reaction Motors powerplants propelled theX-1 andX-15 aircraft, and later Thiokol technologies were also used in the privateTier One crewedspaceplane. On March 1, 2006, NASA announced that Thiokol will be the prime contractor for the newCrew Launch Vehicle (CLV), to be known as theAres I, which will put theOrion spacecraft (formerly known as the "Crew Exploration Vehicle") intolow Earth orbit, along with the five-segment SRBs for the heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV), known as theAres V.
In addition to ski lifts, Thiokol produced a range of equipment forski resorts includingsnowcats andsnow grooming vehicles. These businesses were spun off in 1978 when the company restructured itself to concentrate on its rocket products and related technologies. John Z. DeLorean purchased the Thiokol snowcat operation and renamed it DMC. DMC continued to manufacture snowcats until 1988, when the company was renamedLMC. LMC continued making snowcats for 12 more years but ceased operations in 2000. Thiokol produced snow vehicles with a wide range of capabilities and duties. The company also produced several utility based vehicles based on their snowcat tracked vehicle, in addition to larger snow grooming machines suitable for use on steep ski-slopes. Thiokol machines were used in ski resorts, operated by the USAF in Alaska and other northern regions, and are now popular with private owners[according to whom?] as dependable snowcats and for all-terrain transport.
Thiokol pioneered the short-burn rocket motors used in aircraftejection seats. The company also produced a number of the earliest practicalairbag systems, building the high-speedsodium azideexothermic gas generators used to inflate the bags. Thiokol bags were first used in U.S. military aircraft, before being adapted to space exploration(Mars Pathfinder bounced down on Mars on Thiokol airbags)[citation needed] and automotive airbags. Thiokol's generators form the core of more than 60% of airbags sold worldwide.
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