x
Breaking News
More () »

Milford company played critical role in Apollo 11 mission

MILFORD – July 20 marked the 50th anniversary of man’s first walk on the moon. And on Monday, one of the Connecticut companies that was instrumental in th...

MILFORD - July 20 marked the 50th anniversary of man’s first walk on the moon.

And on Monday, one of the Connecticut companies that was instrumental in the Apollo 11 mission shared its story.

Air Lock, Inc., of Milford, is a rather non-descript looking business. But, its connection to the space industry is unmistakable.

"One sixth of the people on the face of this earth were watching our landing on the moon," said Gov. Ned Lamont.

Lamont joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal for a tour of business, who played more than a small role in the Apollo 11 success.

"Air Lock’s contribution was probably about 30 different components to the (space) suit," said Brian Battisti, President and General Manager of Air Lock.

Among the components: the single piece plastic visor assembly on the astronaut's helmets "for better structural integrity so that, if something happened on the moon, if a crew member fell over, you wanted to be able to survive the impact of hitting a rock," said Battisti.

"We go back to Mercury and Gemini and then through Apollo and Skylab and currently EMU that’s flying all the work they’ve done supporting the Space Station," he said.

Air Lock dates back some 70 years and they are looking forward to an equally exciting future as the company, which employs 23, is working hand-in-hand with NASA toward a return to the moon.

Their new mission?

"To get boots on the moon in 2024, that’s the goal and we are aggressively working towards it," Battisti said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out