Company type | Private Company |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | 1971 |
Founders | Bill Larkin, Gayle Bilyeu, Alan Hirasuna, Rick Walstrom, Don Davis |
Headquarters | 15181 Woodlawn Ave, Tustin, CA 92780 |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Deployable Antennas, Space Propulsion, Space Structures, Missile Defense Targets and Countermeasures |
Website | www |
LGarde, also L'Garde or L·Garde, is an American aerospace and defense technology company founded in 1971 in Orange County, CA[1] and is the primary contractor for the Sunjammer spacecraft, the world largest solar sail.[2] The company was an early pioneer of thin-skinned, multi-task inflatable structures used in various military and space applications.[3] At the height of the Cold War, L·Garde developed and manufactured inflatable targets and decoy systems for U.S. military defense, and countermeasure systems for the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars).[4] After the Cold-War, the company used the technologies and manufacturing techniques it had developed to land a contract to design and build the inflatable antenna experiment[5][6] and other thin-film inflatable space structures using its unique application of rigidizable tube technology.[7] The company's unusual name is an acronym formed by the initials of the founding partners: Bill Larkin, Gayle Bilyeu, Alan Hirasuna, Rich Walstrom, Don Davis. The "E" comes from the Latin term "et al" (and others) as a tip to other partners and original employees of the company.[1]