| 1903 |
The Wright Flyer lifts into the air on December 17 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight lasts only 12 seconds and covers a distance of 121 feet. It is the first powered, manned, heavier-than-air, controlled flight.
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| 1915 |
The U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the first government-sponsored organization in support of aviation research and development, is formed. |
| 1926 |
Robert Goddard launches the world's first liquid-propellant rocket in an orchard. The rocket climbs 41 feet in two-and-a-half-seconds and lands 184 feet away. |
| 1927 |
Charles Lindbergh pilots the Spirit of St. Louis on the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. |
| 1935 |
The DC-3, the first successful passenger airliner, takes off for the first time from Santa Monica, California. |
| 1947 |
Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager flies faster than sound for the first time in the rocket-powered Bell X-1. |
| 1957 |
Russia launches Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite.
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| 1958 |
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) becomes operational, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics as the U.S. government agency most responsible for advancing flight-related technology.
The Pioneer 1 satellite is NASA's first launch. |
| 1959 |
Fletcher Jones and Roy Nutt establish Computer Sciences Corporation in Los Angeles, California. The company's first contract is with Honeywell to develop a business-language compiler called FACT. |
| 1961 |
CSC lands a contract to support the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Space Flight Operations Facility in California, marking CSC's entry into government contracting and the aerospace industry. |
| 1963 |
CSC stock is traded publicly; the company goes public and is listed the following year on the Pacific and American stock exchanges, becoming the first software company to be listed on a national exchange. |
| 1964 |
CSC begins a systems support contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, starting a relationship that continues to this day. |
| 1965 |
CSC acquires Geonautics, Inc., a small but highly respected company with extensive space program experience. |
| 1966 |
CSC wins an engineering support and facilities management contract at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
A CSC team begins work on the Pioneer data reduction and analysis system at NASA Ames Research Center in California. |
| 1968 |
CSC's United Kingdom operation wins the London Airport Cargo EDP Scheme to design and implement the world's first automated air cargo system for customs clearance. |
| 1969 |
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon, marking the first human lunar landing. They return home safely.
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| 1970 |
CSC begins development of Aegis, a major U.S. Navy air-defense weapons system considered to be the most advanced combat system in the world. |
| 1972 |
CSC begins a long and successful relationship with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with a contract to provide software support to the FAA's Digital Simulation Facility for the development of simulations of traffic patterns and safety issues.
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| 1976 |
 CSC is awarded the NASA National Space Technology Labs contract, which includes space shuttle engine testing.
CSC is awarded a contract for development support of the FAA's EnRoute mainframe legacy system. The EnRoute system conducts flight plan and radar processing to determine and display aircraft locations. |
| 1977 |
CSC wins the Communications and Instrumentation Support Services contract to support launches at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
| 1978 |
CSC signs a contract with Johnson Space Center in Texas to support the Space Shuttle program.
CSC wins a contract to develop the original Traffic Management System (TMS) for the FAA. |
| 1981 |
CSC becomes a subcontractor for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) to help establish the Space Telescope Science Institute, based at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. CSC provides IT services in support of Hubble Space Telescope development for NASA. |
| 1986 |
CSC is awarded a $140 million U.S. Air Force Stock Control and Distribution contract. |
| 1987 |
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center awards CSC a $1 billion contract to provide systems engineering and analysis services, CSC's largest contract to date. |
| 1990 |
 CSC's first astronaut, astronomer/physicist Dr. Ron Parise, serves as a payload specialist aboard space shuttle Columbia on the Astro-1 mission. Parise operates three ultraviolet telescopes to observe ultraviolet energy emanating from far-off stars and galaxies.
The Hubble Space Telescope is launched on the Space Shuttle. CSC provides support ranging from scheduling observations to developing Hubble's photographs. |
| 1991 |
CSC signs 10-year, $3 billion IT outsourcing agreement with aerospace industry leader General Dynamics, taking over the company's data centers and service sites throughout the United States. |
| 1994 |
CSC is selected to provide IT support services for British Aerospace (later BAE Systems), as part of a 10-year outsourcing agreement, starting a long-term relationship that has included a number of contract extensions.
CSC signs a $1.1 billion contract to provide comprehensive information systems support at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The contract is known as Program Information Systems Mission Services (PrISMS).
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| 1995 |
CSC astronaut Ron Parise takes part in the longest space shuttle flight to date, 16 days aboard the Endeavour Astro-2 mission.
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| 1999 |
CSC signs a multi-year IT services agreement with Raytheon, one of the world's largest aerospace and defense contractors.
CSC announces a 10-year outsourcing agreement with United Technologies, whose aerospace-related businesses include aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney and helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky. |
| 2000 |
CSC is awarded a contract to support air traffic management research at NASA's Ames Research Center. |
| 2001 |
CSC establishes the High Performance Computing Center of Excellence to help support NASA's Center for Computational Sciences. |
| 2002 |
CSC is awarded a contract to support the FAA’s planning, integration and implementation of information systems security throughout the agency. As a result of the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, security becomes a leading initiative for the agency.
 The Eurofighter Typhoon, a single-seat twin-engine fighter developed by a team of the world's leading aerospace companies, including BAE Systems, takes its maiden flight in April. CSC works with BAE Systems to improve manufacturing and engineering processes and capabilities to support the Eurofighter program.
CSC establishes the Global Aerospace and Defense Council to provide fully integrated services to the company’s aerospace and defense clients. |
| 2003 |
 CSC acquires DynCorp, a leading IT and aerospace contractor for the U.S. government and aerospace and defense industry.
CSC appoints Mark Brown vice president of its Aerospace Division. Brown, a retired Air Force colonel and fighter pilot, served as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flights in 1989 and 1991.
CSC signs two six-year contracts with the Integrated Defense Systems division of Boeing to support distributed and mainframe computing services at sites throughout the United States. |
