Skip to main content
GE Re-entry Systems
Society
Main Category
Sub Category
Era
Date Created
Location Country
us
Coordinates
39.953801, -75.187437
Address1
3198 Chestnut Street
City
Philadelphia
State
Country

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).

Image Credit
Public Domain (Author's Choice)
Image Caption
GE Re-entry Systems

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.