Hughes Research and Development Laboratories
Hughes developed a Research and Development facility (Hughes Research Lab) in Culver City in the 1940s, which was later moved to Malibu in 1960s. Following the Howard Hughes Senate investigation, The Radio Department of Hughes Aircraft, which had been created for Hughes' transcontinental flights, was transformed into the Electronics Department. Hughes Aircraft prospered as a Cold War defense contractor by solving problems in avionics and electronics, growing from 1000 employees in 1948 to 20,000 in 1955. Hughes had attracted a number of engineers and scientists from Cal Tech to lead his research and development teams. Two of those Cal Tech graduates included Simon Ramo and Dean Woolridge who headed the Aerospace Division, and served as two of the companies Vice-Presidents. However, by 1953 most of his top management team had walked out, in what would be referred to as "The Revolt in Culver City". Managers specifically pointed to Hughes as an obsessively controlling, yet indecisive, micro-manager. Ramo and Woolridge would leave to found the company that would become TRW, a major contributor to the Cold War through the development of missile technology, and the first U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
Despite the problems that eventually arose between Hughes and key figures in management, the Research and Development facility of Hughes Aircraft were instrumental in the development of several key aspects of military technology. The Research and Development Laboratories had designed the the Falcon radar-guided air-to-air Missile, as well as a Nuclear version of the Falcon Missile, and were responsible for developing atomic clocks, electro-optical systems, the first working laser, aircraft computer systems, microwave systems, missile guidance systems, and a cryogenic refrigeration system to limit heat transfer. As part of their contribution to the exploration of space, Hughes engineers developed Syncom satellites, ion engines used in space travel, as well as the Surveyor lunar probes designed for JPL, used in the Apollo space program for their "soft-landing" ability. All seven of the Surveyor probes developed by Hughes Aircraft are still on the moon. The number of contributions that Hughes engineers have made to the Cold War and the Space Race cannot be over-estimated. Their work has produced a number of technological innovations that are highly used today. |
11940 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Culver City, CA |
Hecht, Jeff. "Beam : The Race to Make the Laser". Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005.
Barlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele. Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2004.
"Hughes Aircraft and Electronics". University Libraries. University of Nevada Las Vegas.
"Hughes Aircraft History 1932-1986" Transcribed by Faith MacPherson. Our Space HAC Heritage Blog. May 8th, 2015.
Barlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele. Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2004.
"Hughes Aircraft and Electronics". University Libraries. University of Nevada Las Vegas.
"Hughes Aircraft History 1932-1986" Transcribed by Faith MacPherson. Our Space HAC Heritage Blog. May 8th, 2015.
Wende Museum of the Cold War
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