Orbital Sciences
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : ORB |
| Industry | Aerospace and Defense |
| Fate | Merged with Alliant Techsystems |
| Successor | Orbital ATK |
| Founded | Vienna, Virginia, United States (1982) |
| Founder |
David W. Thompson Bruce W. Ferguson Scott L. Webster |
| Defunct | February 9, 2015 |
| Headquarters | Dulles, Virginia, United States |
|
Area served
|
Global |
|
Key people
|
David W. Thompson, Chairman, President and CEO Garrett E. Pierce, Vice Chairman and CFO Antonio L. Elias, Executive Vice President and CTO |
| Products | Space Launch Vehicles, Missile Defense Systems, Satellites and Related Systems, Advanced Space Systems, Space Technical Services |
| Revenue |  US$1.37 billion (FY 2013) |
|
US$113.55 million (FY 2013) |
|
|
US$68.37 million (FY 2013) |
|
| Total assets | US$1.28 billion (FY 2013) |
| Total equity |
US$795.3 million (FY 2013) |
|
Number of employees
|
3,300 +(February, 2014) |
| Divisions | Launch Systems Group Space Systems Group Advanced Programs Group Technical Services Division |
| Website | www.orbital.com |
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture and launch of small- and medium- class space and rocket systems for commercial, military and other government customers. It was headquartered in Dulles, Virginia and publicly traded on the with the ticker symbol ORB. Orbital’s primary products were satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that delivered satellites into orbit; missile defense systems that were used as interceptor and target vehicles; and human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions. Orbital also provided satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories.
On April 29, 2014, Orbital Sciences announced that it would merge with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc. The merger was completed on February 9, 2015 and Orbital Sciences ceased to exist as an independent entity.
Orbital was founded and incorporated in 1982 by three friends who had met earlier while at Harvard Business School—David W. Thompson, Bruce Ferguson and Scott Webster. In 1985, Orbital procured its first contract for providing up to four Transfer Orbital Stage (TOS) vehicles to NASA. In 1987, the seeds for the ORBCOMM constellation were planted when Orbital began investigating a system using Low Earth orbit satellites to collect data from remote locations. In 1988, Orbital acquired Space Data Corporation in Arizona- one of the world's leading suppliers of suborbital rockets- thereby broadening its rocket business and manufacturing capabilities. This was followed by the opening of a new facility in Chandler, Arizona in 1989 to house the company's expanding rocket business. In 1990, the company successfully carried out eight space missions, highlighted by the initial launch of the Pegasus rocket, the world's first privately developed space launch vehicle. Shortly following the successful Pegasus launch, Orbital conducted an IPO in 1990 and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1993, Orbital established its current headquarters in Dulles, Virginia followed by the acquisition of Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation in 1994. In the same year (1994), Orbital successfully conducted the inaugural launch of the Taurus (now renamed as Minotaur-C) rocket. Orbital's acquisitions continued throughout the 1990s including the acquisition of CTA, Inc in 1997, a company having designed and built the first geostationary "lightsat" under contract to Indonesia for Asia's first Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television broadcast program - providing an entry into the fast-growing Geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite market.
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