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Orbital Marks 25th Anniversary Of Company's Founding
Orbital Tallies Over 770 Rockets and Satellites Built or Under Contract Since 1982Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) celebrated the company’s first quarter-century in the space business today as it completed 25 years of operations since the enterprise’s founding on April 2, 1982. At anniversary events starting at the company’s Dulles, Virginia headquarters and continuing later this week at other sites, Orbital executives thanked its employees and customers for making possible the company’s successes to date, and for providing exciting opportunities for future achievements.
"Reflecting on our first 25 years in business, Orbital’s Board of Directors and senior management team are deeply grateful to our customers for their willingness to trust a new enterprise to carry out many of their critical space projects. We also want to offer our heartfelt thanks to the company’s employees and their families, whose creativity, dedication and sacrifices allowed us to fulfill our customer commitments while also building a strong foundation for future growth," said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
From three cofounders and no revenues in 1982, Orbital has grown to over 3,000 people and almost $900 million in annual revenues expected in 2007. During the last 25 years, the company has generated cumulative revenues of approximately $8.7 billion, providing over 45,000 person-years of high-technology employment for its workforce.
Since its founding in 1982, the company has been among the space industry’s most active developers and manufacturers of launch vehicles and space systems. Its operational accomplishments during the past quarter-century have involved selling, designing and building 772 rockets and space systems. This total includes 583 launch vehicles, missiles, satellites and other space systems completed and delivered to date, plus 189 satellites, rockets and related systems currently under firm contracts with customer deliveries scheduled from 2007 to 2012.
For more about Orbital's 25 year history, see