Explosion at Textron/Beechceaft plant, Witchits, Kansas. Manufactured military planes for WW1 and ran cryogenic program.

Beech Aircraft took steps to support the United States' space exploration efforts during the late 1950s with development of cryogenic systems for NASA. The 1960s saw the introduction of the Beechcraft Queen Air series as well as the Beechcraft Debonair, Beechcraft Baron, and Beechcraft King Air as well as the successful use of Beech Aircraft built cabin pressurization equipment used in the Gemini series of spacecraft.[3]