The sale of Rocketdyne helped Boeing Co.‘s Launch and Orbital Systems post an operating profit of $633 million in the third quarter 2005 despite a revenue decline of 19 percent, Boeing announced Oct. 26.

Revenue for Launch and Orbital Systems, part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, fell from $822 million in the third quarter 2004 to $669 million in the most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Boeing blamed the decline on the sale of Rocketdyne and reduced space shuttle work for NASA.

Without the gain from the $700 sale of Rocketdyne to United Technologies Corp., which Boeing completed in August, segment operating margins would have been 9 percent, boosted by improved satellite program performance and higher values for Delta 4 launch contracts. In the third quarter 2004, Launch and Orbital Systems posted an operating loss of $153 million.

Overall, Boeing reported a profit of $1 billion in the third quarter 2005 on revenue of $12.6 billion. A year ago, Boeing earned $456 million on revenue of $13.2 billion.