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.

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

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.

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.

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 Project Vanguard.

Local residents reported explosions at the plant on occasion. One such case occurred at 6:55 p.m., according to the Redlands police, on January 24, 1957. The San Bernardino Sheriff's office stated that it was just another "prepared test explosion." Company officials would not elaborate, saying only it was a controlled testing procedure.

Grand Central was sold in 1961 to become the Lockheed Propulsion Company as a research and production facility of solid fuel rockets and solid rocket propellant.

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