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McGregor, Texas, is the location of a former World War II-era bomb loading plant, named the Bluebonnet Ordnance Plant, which was later converted to a facility for the production of ammonium nitrate composite solid rocket propellants and aircraft jet-assist takeoff (JATO) units for the Air Force. Under successive operating contractors Phillips Petroleum Company (1952-58), Astrodyne Incorporated (1958-59), Rocketdyne (1959-78), and Hercules Incorporated (1978-1995), the McGregor plant expanded into the tactical propulsion market and, using its signature Flexadyne series of CTPB propellants, manufactured rocket motors for air-launched missiles such as Sparrow, Shrike, AIM-9C/D Sidewinder, and Phoenix. By the 1980s, McGregor developed the capability to produce HTPB reduced smoke propellants for AMRAAM, HARM, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder, the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) and the AGM-130 rocket motor, as well as advanced techniques for manufacturing precision metal parts and rocket motor cases. In June 1994, Hercules announced its intent to cease operations at the McGregor plant and transfer its remaining active tactical production programs to Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, West Virginia. This transition was completed in 1996 by Alliant Techsystems, which had purchased Hercules’ aerospace business in March 1995. Following a Government assessment, environmental cleanup, and Congressional action, the abandoned plant property was conveyed to the City of McGregor for the purpose of economic development. The history, technical achievements, major products, and notable events and milestones from the long history of the McGregor solid propulsion plant are described. |
