Space Park Named Historic Site

's Space Park—a massive facility in North Redondo Beach that employs 7,000 people—was designated a Historic Aerospace Site by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics on Wednesday afternoon.

"Space Park is where 'firsts' happen, and it's most gratifying that AIAA has recognized and honored our history of innovation," Sector Vice President and General Manager Jeff Grant said in a statement. "From our development of Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to leave the solar system, to the Defense Support Program satellites, America's first line of missile defense, our reputation is well earned."

At the ceremony, Northrop Grumman Corporate Vice President and Sector President Aerospace Systems Gary Ervin extolled the virtues of the campus.

"It's more like a college campus than anything else," he said, later adding, "Recognizing Space Park as a historic site is truly a great honor."

Clarence Budd Cohen of The Retirees' Assocation said the occasion gave him "so much pleasure" because he was the one who nominated Space Park for the honor.

According to information provided by the company, ground was first broken for Space Park in 1960, and new buildings and facilities were built in 1961.

"There wasn't much here when they put those first two buildings in," Grant said at the ceremony. Nevertheless, he said the employees of Space Park brought vision and creativity to the aerospace world.

The facility has been home of numerous innovations, including the James Webb Space Telescope, Pioneer 10 and multiple defense satellites—and those are the projects that Northrop Grumman can talk about. Others are still classified.

"I always thought of Space Park as an aerospace Camelot," Bruce Gerding, a vice president of Northrop Grumman's aerospace system unit who has worked at the facility for more than 40 years, told the Los Angeles Times recently. "When you think about the legacy of Space Park, it's not the lasers or satellites that we've built here. It's the people who built and developed the technology."