EAST HARTFORD, Conn — Following the success of the "uncrewed" Artemis I flight test of the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft around the moon, the campaign pushes forward.
Representatives from NASA and its partners came to Connecticut to recognize the 60 organizations in the state that are helping build the systems that will allow the first humans in over 50 years to return to the moon. “We’re building a very big, deep space transportation system. The whole goal is to get everybody out there and exploring new worlds, so building all these systems will help to prove out that we can do it,” said U.S. astronaut, Andre Douglas, a back-up astronaut for Artemis II.
Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test around the moon. That crew will include the first woman, person of color and international partner astronaut.
“The cool thing about Artemis is that we’re bringing a bunch of people together. It’s almost the one thing that’s connecting us all on Earth right now,” said Douglas.
The Connecticut organizations recognized at this community event, including Pegasus and Eaton, have helped create Artemis supporting ground systems, spacesuits and rovers, landing systems and so much more.
Fredrick Whitman, RS-25 Turbomachinery Manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris told Connecticut’s News Station, “They make key hardware that enables us to build an engine that operates in a very extreme environment, it’s 500,000 pounds of thrust operating in a cryogenic, ultra-cold temperature to ultra-high combustion temperatures. It’s a very difficult environment. The hardware is very precise. It requires excellent skillset, and we find that with suppliers in the state of Connecticut.”
Connecticut is proving to be an important piece of a universal puzzle.
“The crew is going to be able to go and circumnavigate the moon. That’s the first time since 1972 that humans are going to be in lunar orbit,” said Whitman.
“Apollo inspired generations of scientists and engineers, and we know that Artemis will do the same,” added Keegan Jackson, Resident Manager of the Liquid Engine Office for SLS, NASA.
From the complex engineering of the rocket itself to the very equipment the crew will be wearing, Connecticut has had its hand in helping to make the Artemis campaign a success.
Kaelee Collins is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. She can be reached at kcollins@fox61.com. Follow her on X, and Instagram.
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