Jerry R. Johnson was named vice president...

Jerry R. Johnson was named vice president and program manager for Rocketdyne’s work on the engines for the proposed National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), a hypersonic jet that would travel much faster than today’s commercial aircraft. Rocketdyne is a Canoga Park-based unit of Rockwell International that builds the space shuttle’s engines and other products.

Johnson previously was program manager for Rocketdyne’s work on prototype engines for an “advanced launch system,” which would be an expendable rocket capable of carrying large cargoes into space.