NASA Spotlights Connecticut Supply Chain

When NASA launches its Artemis II mission, four astronauts will be relying on the skill of Connecticut’s workforce.

“Their lives are dependent on your work.” That’s the message NASA astronaut Capt. Lee Morin shared with employees at Leggett & Platt Aerospace’s Pegasus Manufacturing Aug. 15. 

Morin was part of a group from NASA that made stops at several manufacturers around the state.

The goal was celebrate and say thank you to the 60 Connecticut companies supporting the Artemis program.

“Without you, we don’t do the things that we do,” said NASA strategic communications manager Marcia Lindstrom. 

“And with you, we are going to push forward, back to the Moon and beyond.”

Back to the Moon

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA plans to return humans to the Moon for the first time in 50 years. 

“The Artemis program represents a pretty special moment for all of us in this space community, and especially those in the state of Connecticut,” Collins Aerospace vice president and general manager of engine control systems James Bagg said during an Aug. 13 presentation at Goodwin University. 

The ultimate goal for the Artemis campaign is to travel beyond the moon to one day visit destinations like Mars.

NASA’s Artemis I, sending an unmanned Orion spacecraft around the moon, completed its mission in December 2022. 

The Artemis II mission is scheduled for next year, sending four astronauts on a voyage around the moon and back. 

The crew includes the first person of color, the first woman, and the first international astronaut to go to the vicinity of the moon. 

“You all will be able to tell your kids and your grandkids, and they’ll tell their kids and their grandkids that you worked on the program that returned man to the moon,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima told Pegasus employees.

Valuing Quality

In all, more than 3,000 companies across the U.S. are contributing to the program. 

That includes manufacturing parts and designing systems for the Space Launch System, the Orion spacecraft, and more. 

“Your fingerprints are all over the parts of the rocket, the spacecraft and the ground systems and the gateway, you’re part of all of this,” said Lindstrom. 

“We appreciate that you guys are doing everything that you can with attention to detail.”

NASA’s Andre Douglas

All the representatives from NASA said it’s critical that the work done throughout the program needs to be flawless.

“But we are real people, just like you,” said Andre Douglas, a backup astronaut for the Artemis II mission.

“We appreciate that you guys are doing everything that you can with attention to detail, the follow up, the drive, the initiative to make sure that every valve, every screw, every thread, is triple checked. That means a lot.”

Connecticut Contributions

Keegan Jackson, resident manager for NASA’s Space Launch System liquid engine office, highlighted that Connecticut manufacturers are not only contributing to Artemis I or Artemis II, but to a series of increasingly complex missions. 

For example, the team from Pegasus is working on parts that will be part of the Artemis V mission.

“The country moves forward on manufacturing. We don’t have you. We don’t go, we don’t go anywhere.”

NASA’s Keegan Jackson

“The country moves forward on manufacturing,” he said. “We don’t have you, we don’t go—we don’t go anywhere.”

“We’re the aerospace manufacturing capital of the world,” added DiPentima.

“This program really connects to Connecticut and our roots as a manufacturing leader and innovator for hundreds of years in the U.S.”

Next Generation

Highlighting Connecticut’s contributions to the Artemis campaign wasn’t the only reason for the visit to the state.

NASA also hopes to inspire the next generation of the workforce. 

“It’s about inspiring that next generation by doing audacious things that require a lot of rigor, a lot of robust effort, and a constancy of purpose that will allow us to do those things,” said Lindstrom

“This is a program that excites people,” added DiPentima. “It’s an important program for getting the next generation of manufacturers involved, and to show students some of the amazing career opportunities that there are in manufacturing.”

“It’s about inspiring that next generation by doing audacious things.”

NASA’s Marcia Lindstrom

Douglas was one of those people who was inspired at a young age. 

He said he knew from age seven that he wanted to be an astronaut, but he also noted that the path to achieve that goal wasn’t a straight line.

His told the young people in the audience to find something they’re passionate about.

“Look at what you do, what you’re good at, and how people will help you,” Douglas said. 

“They’ll see that passion in you because you’re excited about it, and they can pull you into that community too.”