Reference
ContentsHow to read this mapThe statutory spaceport systemThe launch coast and the Eastern RangeThe chain off the coastThe engine that changed hands twiceThe state's handThe state designates a research entityAnnounced, and designated: two different thingsNetwork position and what it does not meanHow to read each relationEvidence architecture, open items and sourcesThe engine that changed hands twice
The West Palm Beach rocket engine plant designs, manufactures, assembles and tests the RL10 engine, which flies on the Centaur upper stage of Vulcan Centaur from Space Launch Complex 41.
L3Harris Technologies acquired Aerojet Rocketdyne in a transaction signed 18 December 2022 at $58 per share, about $4.7 billion including net debt, and closed on 28 July 2023 [LHXAJ] [LHXSEC]. In January 2026 the space propulsion, power and electronics business reemerged as a standalone company carrying the Rocketdyne name, about 1,300 people, in which AE Industrial Partners holds a 60 percent interest and L3Harris retains a noncontrolling interest [SNRD] [WT26] [RDHOME] [AEIHOME]. The missile business stayed with L3Harris as L3Harris Missile Solutions.
The relation from L3Harris to Aerojet Rocketdyne is acquired, not founded. A purchase and a founding are different relations and they are typed differently here. The ownership of the standalone company is carried by two more: majority owner of from AE Industrial Partners and minority owner of from L3Harris.
| From | Relation | To | Years | What the record states |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Palm Beach rocket engine plant | manufactures | RL10 engine | 1963 onward | the plant designs, manufactures, assembles and tests the engine |
| RL10 engine | powers | Vulcan Centaur | 2024 onward | the West Palm Beach engine flies on the Centaur upper stage |
| Aerojet Rocketdyne | operates site | West Palm Beach rocket engine plant | 2013 to 2023 | the propulsion company holds the West Palm Beach plant |
| L3Harris Technologies | acquired | Aerojet Rocketdyne | 2023 | acquisition signed 18 December 2022 at $58 per share, $4.7 billion including net debt, completed 28 July 2023 |
| Aerojet Rocketdyne | spun off as | Rocketdyne | 2026 | the space propulsion, power and electronics business separates as a standalone company |
| Aerojet Rocketdyne | separated into | L3Harris Missile Solutions | 2026 | the missile business stays with L3Harris as L3Harris Missile Solutions |
| AE Industrial Partners | majority owner of | Rocketdyne | 2026 | the Boca Raton firm takes 60 percent of the business and restores the Rocketdyne name |
| L3Harris Technologies | minority owner of | Rocketdyne | 2026 onward | L3Harris retains a noncontrolling interest |
| Rocketdyne | operates site | West Palm Beach rocket engine plant | 2026 onward | the standalone company holds the West Palm Beach plant |
| Pratt and Whitney West Palm Beach | predecessor of | West Palm Beach rocket engine plant | 1958 onward | the Palm Beach County engine development center precedes and surrounds the rocket engine plant |
| L3Harris Technologies | operates site | L3Harris Palm Bay spacecraft campus | 2021 onward | the prime holds the Palm Bay spacecraft campus |
| RL10 engine | powers | Atlas Centaur | 1963 | the RL10 makes the first in flight liquid hydrogen burn on the Centaur stage |