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TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting.〔http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc.〕 It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft, including Pioneer 1, Pioneer 10, and several space-based observatories. It was #57 on the Fortune 500 list, and had 122,258 employees.〔 TRW’s roots were founded in 1901, and it lasted for more than a century until being acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002. It helped create a variety of corporations, including Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (source of TRW acronym), Pacific Semiconductors, the Aerospace Corporation, Bunker-Ramo, Experian, and TRW Automotive which is now part of ZF Friedrichshafen. Persons coming from TRW were important to build up corporations like SpaceX.〔(Elon Musk’s Space Dream Almost Killed Tesla ), Ashley Vance, Bloomberg, 2015-05-14.〕 In 1953, the company was recruited to lead the development of America’s first ICBM.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch1-5.htm )〕 Starting with the initial design by Convair, the multi-corporate team launched Atlas in 1957〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.astronautix.com/fam/atlas.htm )〕 after some spectacular failures. It flew its full range in 1958, and was adapted to fly the Mercury astronauts into orbit.〔 TRW also led development of the Titan missile,〔 which was later adapted to fly the Gemini missions. The company served the US Air Force as systems engineers on all subsequent ICBM development efforts,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html )〕 but TRW never produced any missile hardware because of the conflict of interest. In 1960, Congress spurred the formation of the non-profit The Aerospace Corporation to provide systems engineering to the US government,〔 but TRW continued to guide the ICBM efforts. ==History== TRW originated in 1901 with the Cleveland Cap Screw Company, founded by David Kurtz and four other Cleveland residents. Their initial products were bolts with heads electrically welded to the shafts. In 1904, a welder named Charles E. Thompson adapted their process to making automobile engine valves,〔 and, by 1915, the company was the largest valve producer in America.〔http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/industry/trw.htm | TRW〕 Charles Thompson was named General Manager of the company, which became Thompson Products in 1926.〔http://tra-spacepark.org/docs/TRW_History.pdf TRW History〕 Their experimental hollow sodium-cooled valves aided Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic.〔 In 1937, Thompson Motor Products bought J. A. Drake and Sons (JADSON). The company made high performance valves that were used in many racing engines of the day, including the Miller Offy. Dale Drake (son of J. A. Drake) bought the Offy engine design with his partner Louis Meyer in 1946 and won the Indianapolis 500 twenty-seven times, more than any other engine design. In 1950, Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge while working for Hughes Aircraft, led the development of the Falcon radar-guided missile, among other projects. They grew frustrated with Howard Hughes’ management, and formed the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation in September 1953,〔 with the financial support of Thompson Products.〔 The detonation of a thermonuclear bomb by the Soviet Union spurred Trevor Gardner to form the Teapot Committee in October 1953. Chaired by John von Neumann, its purpose was to study the development of ballistic missiles, including ICBMs. Ramo and Wooldridge were committee members, and Ramo-Wooldridge Corp. became the lead contractor of the resulting ICBM development effort, reporting to the United States Air Force. With continued backing from Thompson Products, Ramo-Wooldridge diversified into computers and electronic components, funding Pacific Semiconductors in 1954.〔Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, by John N. Ingham, Greenwood Publishing Group〕 They also produced scientific spacecraft such as Pioneer 1. Thompson Products and Ramo-Wooldridge merged in October 1958 to form Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc., unofficially known as "TRW".〔 In February 1959, Jimmy Doolittle became Chairman of the Board of Space Technology Laboratories (STL), the division which continued to support the Air Force ICBM efforts.〔 Other aerospace companies challenged that TRW’s Air Force advisory role granted it unfair access to its competitors’ technology,〔 and in September 1959 the United States Congress issued a report recommending that STL be converted to a non-profit organization. With nearly half of STL’s employees,〔 The Aerospace Corporation was formed in June 1960, which headed the Atlas conversion for Mercury, Titan conversion for Gemini, and provides ongoing systems engineering support for the United States government. The Air Force continued its ICBM work with TRW.〔 During fiscal years 1961 through 1963, TRW produced 319,163 M14 rifles for the United States military. Dean Wooldridge retired in January 1962〔 to become a professor at California Institute of Technology.〔 Simon Ramo became President of the Bunker-Ramo Corp in January 1964, a company jointly owned by TRW and Martin Marietta for the production of computers and computer monitors. Thompson Ramo Wooldridge officially became TRW Inc. in July 1965.〔 Free of anti-competitive restrictions, except regarding ICBM hardware, STL was renamed TRW Systems Group, also in July 1965.〔 The Credit Data group was formed in 1970〔 to compete with Dun & Bradstreet,〔 and ESL was acquired in 1978,〔 specializing in technical strategic reconnaissance. TRW Information Systems and Services Division (Credit Data) was spun off in 1996 to form Experian.〔(Experian Information Solutions Inc ).〕 TRW acquired LucasVarity in 1999, then sold Lucas Diesel Systems to Delphi Automotive, and Lucas Aerospace (then called TRW Aeronautical Systems) to Goodrich Corporation.〔( Goodrich buys TRW's aeronautical arm for £1bn )〕 The company was #57〔 on the Fortune 500 list of highest revenue American companies in 1986, and had 122,258 employees in 2000.〔 They had operations in 25 countries.〔 At approximately 7 p.m. on February 3, 1986 the large TRW plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania burned to the ground in an eight-alarm fire.〔(Harrisburg Plant Fire ).〕 The plant stored large amounts of dangerous chemicals and people in the local area were urged to stay indoors. The damage was estimated to be greater than $10 million and it was the most serious fire in Harrisburg history at the time. In February 2002 Northrop Grumman launched a $5.9 billion hostile bid for TRW. A bidding war between Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and General Dynamics ended on July 1, 2002 when Northrop's increased bid of $7.8 billion was accepted. Soon afterward, the automotive assets of LucasVarity and TRW's own automotive group were sold to The Blackstone Group as TRW Automotive.〔(Northrop Grumman agrees to buy TRW for $7.8bn in stock )〕 Much of TRW's Lyndhurst campus is now home to the lifestyle center Legacy Village. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, says that "he got his first big break" when only 15, debugging energy-grid control software for TRW. "It was kind of scary," Gates said, realizing the things the program was going to help operate. "This thing ''needs'' to work."〔()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「TRW Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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