by Garth Meyer
A transcription error into Excel made it appear that SpaceX won the 2024 Aerospace Games July 27 but once it was corrected, final tabulations showed Northrop Grumman took its second consecutive Games, held this year at El Camino College.
SpaceX finished second and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) got third.
A total of 46 Southern California aerospace (or aerospace-adjacent) companies participated, their employees competing head-to-head in 11 events, and a canned food drive in the days before.
More than 400 people took part last Saturday, with 8,000 total attendees – other employees and spectators.
Northrop Grumman won the volleyball competition (male and female), ultimate frisbee, water ball toss, cornhole and executive golf. They finished second in soccer and fourth in dodgeball. SpaceX took first in soccer, relay race and tug of war. JPL won dodgeball.
AeroVironment collected the most cans, more than 900 items. The overall total was 4,157, almost a thousand more than last year. All of the food was donated to the nonprofit pantry C.A.S.E (Community Alliance to Support and Empower) in El Segundo.
Since Northrop Grumman won the Games last year too, they organized the 2024 edition, as they will now for 2025.
An internal group at the company began working on the latest games back in November.
“We hit the ground running in January,” said Michelle Monroe, Northrop Grumman business communications specialist.
Participating companies cover costs of the event.
The Games began in 2002 when a group of Boeing aerospace workers had a beach competition. The next year, they invited Raytheon and Northrop Grumman and more than 100 people joined in.
By 2016, the tradition had grown to 20 companies with 2,000 attendees. It was previously held at Dockweiler State Beach.
Northrop Grumman won the Games last year and SpaceX won in 2022. Before a 2020-21 hiatus due to the pandemic, Northrop Grumman took the championship in 2018 and 2019 and SpaceX won it the two years before that. ER
