TRW Inc.
![A satellite reflector being developed by TRW near [[Cleveland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Satellite_reflector_-_1968.jpg)
The company was founded in 1901 and lasted for just over a century until being acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002. It spawned a variety of corporations, including Pacific Semiconductors, The Aerospace Corporation, Bunker-Ramo and Experian. Its automotive businesses were sold off by Northrop Grumman as TRW Automotive, which is now part of ZF Friedrichshafen. TRW veterans were instrumental in the founding of corporations like SpaceX.
In 1953, the company was recruited to lead the development of the United States' first ICBM. Starting with the initial design by Convair, the multi-corporate team launched Atlas in 1957. It flew its full range in 1958 and was then adapted to fly the Mercury astronauts into orbit. TRW also led development of the Titan missile, which was later adapted to fly the Gemini missions. The company served the U.S. Air Force as systems engineers on all subsequent ICBM development efforts but TRW never produced any missile hardware because of the conflict of interest. In 1960, Congress spurred the formation of the non-profit Aerospace Corporation to provide systems engineering support to the U.S. government but TRW continued to guide the ICBM efforts. Provided by Wikipedia
-
1by Bannerton, N. P., Vogt, J. W., DeRespiris, D. L., Lewis Research Center., TRW Inc.Get access
Published 1969
Text