Aerospace Corp. research and development laboratory moved its headquarters this week from El Segundo to Virginia, but reaffirmed its commitment to its South Bay campus by announcing a $100 million investment there.
The federally funded nonprofit, which supports space work for the government and the private sector, said there would be “no significant relocation of existing employees” during the move to Chantilly, Va., where it has another campus, but said industry changes required it.
“The space industry has been transformed over the past decade, reshaped by rapidly advancing threats, evolving technologies, and a rapidly growing commercial sector,” CEO Steve Isakowitz said in a prepared statement. “By relocating our headquarters to the Washington, D.C., metro area, we will deepen our relationships with key decision-makers and stakeholders, and reaffirm our commitment to working alongside our partners as they carry out critical missions for our country.”
By moving its senior management to the center of the country's politics and government, Aerospace joins a growing number of aerospace and defense contractors that have taken this step.
Last year, RTX Corp., which has facilities in El Segundo and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, announced it would move its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia. Boeing Corp, a major defense contractor, also said it would move its global headquarters to Arlington, from Chicago.
They join major defense contractors headquartered in the area, including General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, whose 2011 move from Los Angeles was a blow to Southern California's aerospace industry, though it continues to maintain large-scale operations here.
Aerospace Corp. is nowhere near the size of large defense contractors but plays a key role in supporting the nation's space industry with cutting-edge technologies and consulting services. It has 4,600 employees across the country, including 2,800 in El Segundo. Other major facilities are located in Chantilly, Albuquerque, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Founded in 1960, the laboratory has provided assistance to projects including the Department of Defense's Global Positioning System (GPS), NASA's race to the moon in the 1960s, the nation's ballistic missile defense system, and multiple satellite deployments.
Her current work includes conducting research to improve solar arrays for satellites, developing electric propulsion for spacecraft, and improving space microelectronics. It also works within NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon.
The nonprofit's primary client and sponsor is the U.S. Space Force, but it also works with NASA and other civilian agencies, as well as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, the intelligence community and international partners. Among the private sector companies that it has worked with is SpaceX.
Aerospace said its $100 million investment in the El Segundo campus will seek to expand its technical expertise and strengthen relationships with the region's workforce, talent base and universities. A company spokesman said that among the projects it will finance are modernizing facilities dating back to the 1960s and integrating laboratories and other spaces into the main campus.
