GE Re-entry Systems

From 1956 to 1993, the GE Re-entry Systems facility was home to thousands of engineers and technicians who solved the problem of vehicles successfully reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. As described by aerospace pioneer Theodore Von Karman, “ Reentry… is perhaps the most difficult problem one can imagine.” Whether it was the first operational reentry vehicle for the Atlas ICBM, the recovery of the first man-made object from orbit, or the first probe to enter Jupiter’s atmosphere, some of the most significant milestones in aerospace were accomplished by those working in this facility. GE Re-entry Systems achievements also include the first operational ablation reentry vehicle and longest reentry system flight in the world (9000 miles — Atlas Mk 3); the largest operational U.S. Reentry vehicle (Titan II Mk 6); and the first multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle weapon system (Minuteman III).