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Thiokol
Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur (Greek: θεῖον, romanized: theion) and glue (Greek: κόλλα, romanized: kolla), an allusion to the company's initial product, Thiokol polymer.
The Thiokol Chemical Company was founded in 1929. Its initial business was a range of synthetic rubber and polymer sealants. Thiokol was a major supplier of liquid polymer sealants during World War II. When scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that Thiokol's polymers made ideal binders for solid rocket fuels, Thiokol moved into the new field, opening laboratories at Elkton, Maryland, and later production facilities at Elkton and at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville produced the XM33 Pollux, TX-18 Falcon, and TX-135 Nike-Zeus systems. It closed in 1996. In the mid-1950s the company bought extensive lands in Utah for its rocket test range.
Thiokol was involved in two major accidents with loss of life. On February 3, 1971, at a Thiokol chemical plant southeast of Woodbine, Georgia, a fire entered a storage facility holding nearly five tons of ignition pellets, flares, and other highly flammable materials. The facility exploded, killing 29 people and severely wounding more than 50 others, many with severed limbs. Windows were shattered 11 miles (18 km) away and the explosion was heard for 50 miles (80 km) around. Georgia law prevented the employees from suing their employer because they were covered by workers' compensation insurance.
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members. An investigation found the cause to be two failed O-ring seals in the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster, which had been manufactured by Morton Thiokol. Test data from as early as 1977 had revealed a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings in cold conditions, but neither Morton Thiokol nor NASA assessed or corrected the problem. Shortly before takeoff, several Morton Thiokol engineers recommended delaying the launch until temperatures at Cape Canaveral warmed, but they were overruled by company management.
In 1926, two chemists, Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin, were trying to invent an inexpensive antifreeze. In the course of an experiment involving ethylene dichloride and sodium polysulfide, they created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odor. The substance clogged a sink in the laboratory, and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. The frustrated chemists realized that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented a synthetic rubber, which they christened "Thiokol". In 1929, Bevis Longstreth, an executive at Morton Salt, founded the Thiokol Corporation in Trenton, New Jersey. He became its president and general manager.
Longstreth died in 1944, leaving the position of president and general manager open. William Crosby became general manager. The next year, in 1945, Charles Bartley, working for the nascent Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discovered the use of thiokol as a stabilizer in solid-fuel rockets. In 1948, a plant in Elkton, Maryland was opened, producing solid rocket motors. In 1949, Thiokol produced the TX-18 Falcon missile, the world's first solid-fueled missile system.
In 1957, anticipating the forthcoming Minuteman contract, the company built its plant west of Brigham City, Utah, near Promontory and Thiokol Huntsville began building XM33 Pollux missiles.
In 1958, Thiokol merged with Reaction Motors Inc. (RMI), makers of liquid propellant rocket motor systems. Also in 1958, Thiokol received a contract to build the TU-122 rocket motor for the first stage of the LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM system. In 1959, Thiokol Huntsville began producing CASTOR strap-on booster rocket, used on the Atlas rocket.
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Thiokol
Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur (Greek: θεῖον, romanized: theion) and glue (Greek: κόλλα, romanized: kolla), an allusion to the company's initial product, Thiokol polymer.
The Thiokol Chemical Company was founded in 1929. Its initial business was a range of synthetic rubber and polymer sealants. Thiokol was a major supplier of liquid polymer sealants during World War II. When scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that Thiokol's polymers made ideal binders for solid rocket fuels, Thiokol moved into the new field, opening laboratories at Elkton, Maryland, and later production facilities at Elkton and at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville produced the XM33 Pollux, TX-18 Falcon, and TX-135 Nike-Zeus systems. It closed in 1996. In the mid-1950s the company bought extensive lands in Utah for its rocket test range.
Thiokol was involved in two major accidents with loss of life. On February 3, 1971, at a Thiokol chemical plant southeast of Woodbine, Georgia, a fire entered a storage facility holding nearly five tons of ignition pellets, flares, and other highly flammable materials. The facility exploded, killing 29 people and severely wounding more than 50 others, many with severed limbs. Windows were shattered 11 miles (18 km) away and the explosion was heard for 50 miles (80 km) around. Georgia law prevented the employees from suing their employer because they were covered by workers' compensation insurance.
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members. An investigation found the cause to be two failed O-ring seals in the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster, which had been manufactured by Morton Thiokol. Test data from as early as 1977 had revealed a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings in cold conditions, but neither Morton Thiokol nor NASA assessed or corrected the problem. Shortly before takeoff, several Morton Thiokol engineers recommended delaying the launch until temperatures at Cape Canaveral warmed, but they were overruled by company management.
In 1926, two chemists, Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin, were trying to invent an inexpensive antifreeze. In the course of an experiment involving ethylene dichloride and sodium polysulfide, they created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odor. The substance clogged a sink in the laboratory, and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. The frustrated chemists realized that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented a synthetic rubber, which they christened "Thiokol". In 1929, Bevis Longstreth, an executive at Morton Salt, founded the Thiokol Corporation in Trenton, New Jersey. He became its president and general manager.
Longstreth died in 1944, leaving the position of president and general manager open. William Crosby became general manager. The next year, in 1945, Charles Bartley, working for the nascent Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discovered the use of thiokol as a stabilizer in solid-fuel rockets. In 1948, a plant in Elkton, Maryland was opened, producing solid rocket motors. In 1949, Thiokol produced the TX-18 Falcon missile, the world's first solid-fueled missile system.
In 1957, anticipating the forthcoming Minuteman contract, the company built its plant west of Brigham City, Utah, near Promontory and Thiokol Huntsville began building XM33 Pollux missiles.
In 1958, Thiokol merged with Reaction Motors Inc. (RMI), makers of liquid propellant rocket motor systems. Also in 1958, Thiokol received a contract to build the TU-122 rocket motor for the first stage of the LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM system. In 1959, Thiokol Huntsville began producing CASTOR strap-on booster rocket, used on the Atlas rocket.