A recent private equity deal highlights the diminished state of America's once-dominant legacy rocket industry. For those familiar with space history before the influx of billionaires and venture capital, the name Rocketdyne likely rings a bell. Half a century ago, Rocketdyne was the powerhouse behind nearly all of the United States' large liquid-fueled rocket engines.

Rocketdyne's engines were crucial to iconic missions and vehicles, including the Saturn V rocket that propelled astronauts to the Moon, the Space Shuttle, and the Atlas, Thor, and Delta rockets. The company also played a significant role in the US military's early ballistic missiles. However, Rocketdyne's reign began to wane following the end of the Cold War.

Originally established in 1955 as a division of North American Aviation, Rocketdyne later became part of Rockwell International before being acquired by Boeing in 1996. From the 1950s through the 1980s, Rocketdyne consistently designed and tested new large rocket engines. Since then, the company has only developed and qualified one large engine design from scratch, the RS-68, which was retired from service in 2024. The rise of the commercial space industry further accelerated Rocketdyne's decline.