spacetoday.net: Report: Boeing planning to sell Rocketdyne

Posted: Tue, Feb 1, 2005, 12:52 PM ET (1752 GMT)
Boeing is in talks with United Technologies to sell its Rocketdyne rocket engine subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. According to the report, Boeing and United Technologies are negotiating a deal valued at "more than $500 million" for the engine maker. The general structure of the deal has been in place since late last year although final details have yet to be agreed upon; no other company has expressed an interest in buying Rocketdyne. Boeing acquired Rocketdyne in 1996 when it purchased the aerospace divisions of Rockwell International. Rocketdyne is best known for building the F-1 and J-2 engines used on the Saturn 5, as well as the Space Shuttle Main Engine and the RS-68 used on the Delta 4. United Technologies already owns Pratt & Whitney, a company that manufactures a number of rocket engines such as the RL10. Pratt & Whitney is also a partner with Russian company NPO Energomash on the RD-180 engine, used on the Atlas 3 and 5 boosters; that partnership includes plans to manufacture the RD-180 in the US although the engine is still built exclusively in Russia. The proposed deal is seen by analysts as part of the long-awaited consolidation of the US launch vehicle industry.