Orbital Science Acquires Rockwell Unit

Orbital Science Corp.’s Magellan Systems unit said it completed its $9-million purchase of the vehicle-navigation unit of Rockwell International Corp., making it the largest U.S. company in the growing field. In the purchase, which closed July 31, Magellan acquired Seal Beach-based Rockwell’s vehicle-navigation technology including the PathMaster Global Positioning System. The system allows drivers to program a travel route from hundreds of local destinations in its database and then uses satellites, dead reckoning, map matches and voice prompts to locate the vehicle and guide the driver to the destination. The acquisition makes Magellan the largest producer of vehicle navigation systems in the U.S., the company said. Japan has 1.5 million automobile-navigation units installed, which shows the potential of the U.S. market, where Magellan is the leader with 10,000 units installed, Beneski said. Shares in Dulles, Va.-based Orbital rose $1.31 to close at $20.44 on Nasdaq; Rockwell’s shares rose $1.44 to $65.25 on the NYSE.