Predecessor Companies
Following World War II, the potential of atomic energy captured the interest of the United States Government and many companies. This interest created the need for nuclear R&D facilities. North American Aviation (NAA) created the Atomic Energy Research Department (AERD) in 1948 to manage its government and commercial nuclear R&D activities.
Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) was initially established by NAA in 1947 to meet the requirements for a field test laboratory with geographic isolation as a place to static-fire large rocket engines. The remoteness of the field lab also met NAA's requirements for a nuclear research facility. Area IV was purchased and construction began in 1953 as a nuclear research and development facility. Since then, the SSFL has housed both nuclear development and rocket development groups, although in distinct and separate locations. The rocket development group conducted operations in the SSFL's Area I, II and III. The AERD conducted operations in the SSFL's Area IV. In December 1955, these two NAA groups were transformed into separate divisions: AI and Rocketdyne.
Several corporate mergers and organizational changes subsequently occurred. In 1967 NAA merged with Rockwell Standard to become North American Rockwell. In 1973 the corporate name changed to Rockwell International. Throughout this period AI and Rocketdyne continued to exist as independent divisions with independent operations.
Two distinct groups of AI were housed in Area IV and supported by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE): one focused on development of civilian nuclear power, and the other was a center of excellence for research and testing of non-nuclear components related to liquid metals. These groups were referred to as AI and the Liquid Metal Engineering Center (LMEC).
The group focused on developing and commercializing reactor technology was AI. Nuclear research and development activities in Area IV increased rapidly from 1953 into the late 1960s. As time passed, nuclear R&D activities steadily declined. As a result of this decline, AI was merged into Rocketdyne in 1984.
Most nuclear research programs and operations ceased in 1988 and all non-nuclear research ended in 1998. Beginning in the 1990s, activities in Area IV have focused on decontamination and decommissioning (D&D), and remediation. In 1996, Rocketdyne merged into The Boeing Company in a corporate acquisition of the aerospace divisions of Rockwell International.
