Lockheed Propulsion Company

The Lockheed Propulsion Company was a division of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation located at 1500 Crafton Avenue in the Mentone, California area northeast of Redlands, California, adjacent to the Santa Ana River, from 1961 to 1975. It developed, tested and produced solid rocket motors and propellant used in military and National Aeronautics and Space Administration applications.

The site consists of approximately 400 acres which was leased from the City of Redlands. The predecessor Grand Central Rocket Company facility was used for the production, testing and disposal of solid rocket propellant used in rocket engines. Lockheed used the facility for research and for production of solid fuel rockets for military and commercial use until 1974.[1]

History

The Lockheed Propulsion Company was founded in 1952 as the Grand Central Rocket Company by Major C. C. Moseley, co-founder of Western Airlines[2] and Charles E. Bartley, the inventor of rubber-based solid rocket fuel propellants.[3]

The company announced on 22 December 1953, that a plant for manufacturing solid fuel rocket propellant would be built in the Redlands-Mentone area, and that negotiations with the Redlands City Council for 160 acres of city-owned land in East Lugonia were underway. The facility was expected to begin operation within 90 days. At the outset, 53 highly skilled technicians would be employed.[4]

In 1954, the company began operations at a 1,100 acre (?) site in the Mentone area. By 1956, the firm had 130 employees, and was expanding, said President Charles E. Bartley.[5]

The U.S. Navy announced on 5 April 1956 that Grand Central Rocket Co. had been selected to build the solid-propellant third-stage rocket for

Environmental pollution

"In the 1980s, trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent, was detected in four out of twelve groundwater wells sampled in the Redlands area. The Division of Drinking Water and Environmental Management (DDW) within the California Department of Health Services CDHS, directed that any drinking water wells which contained TCE at levels exceeding 5 parts per billion (ppb) or the maximum contaminant level (MCL), be taken off-line. In 1989, as a result of the TCE contamination, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB), Santa Ana Region, and the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) provided funding for the installation of a Liquid Phase Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) groundwater treatment system to treat and clean the water from the TCE impacted wells. Subsequent investigations by the CRWQCB determined that Lockheed Martin Corporation (formerly Lockheed Propulsion Company) was the source of the TCE contamination. TCE had been the primary contaminant of concern emanating from the Lockheed site, until mid-1997 when the first tests for perchlorate in drinking water were performed."[1]

In 1997, ammonium perchlorate was discovered in a number of domestic water supply wells that serve several water purveyors throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Two of the wells in the City of Loma Linda's municipal drinking water system had been impacted by the perchlorate groundwater plume, originating from the Lockheed site.[1] Perchlorate adversely affects human health by interfering with iodine uptake into the thyroid gland. In adults, the thyroid gland helps regulate the metabolism by releasing hormones, while in children, the thyroid helps in proper development.