Thiokol

This article is about the company. For the trademarked polymer, see Thiokol (polymer).
Thiokol Chemical Corporation
IndustryAerospace, Manufacturing, Chemicals
FoundedDecember 5, 1929
Defunct2007, succeeded by Orbital ATK; and later merged with Northrop Grumman
FatePurchased by ATK Launch Systems Group
HeadquartersOgden, Utah, US
ProductsRocket engines, Snowcats
Number of employees
15,000
ParentCordant Technologies

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.[1] Georgia law prevented the employees from suing their employer because they were covered by workers' compensation insurance.[2]

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 addressed or corrected the issue. Shortly before takeoff, several Morton Thiokol engineers recommended delaying the launch until temperatures at Cape Canaveral warmed, but they were overruled by company management.[3][4]

  1. ^ Jackson, Gordon: "Memories still shake". Florida Times-Union, February 4, 2001.
  2. ^ "United States of America v. ARETZ et al". Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  3. ^ Rogers, William P.; Armstrong, Neil A.; Acheson, David C.; Covert, Eugene E.; Feynman, Richard P.; Hotz, Robert B.; Kutyna, Donald J.; Ride, Sally K; Rummel, Robert W.; Sutter, Joseph F.; Walker, Arthur B.C.; Wheelon, Albert D.; Yeager, Charles E. (June 6, 1986). "Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Morton Thiokol: Getting off easy. Gregory R. Bell, Harvard Crimson, December 10, 1986.