It developed, tested and produced solid rocket motors and propellant used in military and National Aeronautics and Space Administration applications.
[3] The company announced on 22 December 1953, that a plant for manufacturing solid fuel rocket propellant would be built in the Redlands-Mentone area, and that negotiations with the Redlands City Council for 160 acres of city-owned land in East Lugonia were underway.
Representatives of Southern California firms supplying the company met at the Redlands headquarters on 16 September and were urged to pledge their support of the program.
In 1989, as a result of the TCE contamination, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB), Santa Ana Region, and the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) provided funding for the installation of a Liquid Phase Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) groundwater treatment system to treat and clean the water from the TCE impacted wells.
Two of the wells in the City of Loma Linda's municipal drinking water system had been impacted by the perchlorate groundwater plume, originating from the Lockheed site.
[16] Some 800 residents in the Redlands community subsequently filed suit against Lockheed, alleging that the groundwater contamination had caused health problems.
[17] The California Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling in 2003, however, found that the citizens of Redlands, had no basis for filing a class action toxic tort lawsuit against the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Federal policies allowed for burning toxic chemical waste in open, unlined dirt pits during the 1970s, according to a lawsuit that Lockheed Martin Corp. filed against the U.S. government.
Lockheed reported more than $500 million in liabilities companywide from "environmental matters," which include soil and groundwater contamination in Redlands and unrelated projects, according to SEC filings.
In a suit filed on 1 July 2008, the company wants the government to pay past cleanup costs and to be held liable for future expenses.