US company involved in the Apollo programme. It worked on the re-entry considerations in the design of the spacecraft and also developed Chartek fire-retardant material for the Apollo spacesuit. Chartek delayed the suit's temperature build-up during a fire and could swell to six times its thickness to create a protective barrier.

Located in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Avco Manufacturing was the third-largest US producer of World War II materials. It became the Avco Corporation in 1959 and was merged with Textron Inc., of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1985.