Northwest Aerospace News June | July 2021 — Issue No. 21 | Page 13

The Redmond location strives for quality and , “ 100 percent mission success ; we ensure that everything that goes out the door is going to work the first time , every time ,” he said .

The company has a long history , only becoming Aerojet Rocketdyne about 10 years ago . Prior to that , Aerojet was started in 1942 , became assumed by General Tire and became Aerojet General . Rocketdyne was formerly North American Aviation .
While the work at the Redmond location sounds demanding , Young said that he likes it because he feels it supports humankind , “ Landing on Mars is just one of the many accomplishments that we ’ ve had in a short amount of time ,” he said . He added that it is , “ extremely prideful work .”
Otherwise he said he is engaged by “ the cool science .” He added that at the Redmond location they have “ some of the most passionate people you will ever meet — not only with what we do , but with what our customers do with our technology .”
Young has strong feelings about mission support for a company like Aerojet Rocketdyne , “ Every position that I ’ ve ever had supports our war fighters , supports first responders and supports humankind .”
He is passionate about the work , and added , “ It supports all of the passions for me . When you look at the number of engines and satellites that this company supports , and what it does for humankind , it is tremendous history . I am proud to be a leader of this organization and what we do .
Young said that technology similar to the ones Aerojet Rocketdyne develops has also been demonstrated on “ Star Trek ” and “ The Expanse ,” with an electric propulsion engine simulation that gives an aircraft a blue glow in space .
But Young said that their team at the Redmond location is not consulted by Hollywood executives or writers who are researching the technology . “ NASA runs the fact-checking of a show or movie ,” he said .
Their products are sold to prime integrators like Lockheed Martin , Northrop Grumman , Boeing , and United Launch Alliance . NASA , Department of Defense , and other government entities hire them for other projects , including the work they did with the Jet Propulsion Lab ( JPL ) on the Mars Perseverance mission . The company is hired to support satellite , launch and space exploration vehicles along with propulsion engines .
JUNE | JULY 2021 ISSUE NO . 21 13