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Governor Ned Lamont

12/09/2022

Governor Lamont Highlights Connecticut’s Contributions to NASA’s Artemis Moon Exploration Program

Forty-Four Connecticut Companies are Suppliers to the Groundbreaking Mission

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today is highlighting the prominent role that 44 businesses in Connecticut are playing in NASA’s world-renowned Artemis I mission, which sent an unmanned spacecraft on an unprecedented trip around the moon and is now on the final stretch of its historic journey. The spacecraft is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, December 11, 2022, after 25 days of space exploration.

“Connecticut is home to the best trained, best skilled workforce in the world, so it is no surprise that NASA has hired so many manufacturers from our state to supply the products that are supporting this groundbreaking space exploration mission,” Governor Lamont said. “Our administration is committed to supporting the growth of these manufacturing companies through the operation of high-quality workforce development programs that help them fill the jobs necessary for these high-tech fields. Connecticut is the birthplace of the industrial revolution and we continue to lead the world in many industries.”

According to NASA, Artemis I sets the stage for human exploration into deep space, where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems near the moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from Earth, including Mars. The subsequent Artemis II mission will be the first crewed test flight to the moon since Apollo.

BY THE NUMBERS: Forty-four Connecticut companies are supplying NASA with products for Artemis.

  • 23 companies supply NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful rocket built to date.
  • 14 companies provide critical materials for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which is built to take humans farther in space than ever before.
  • 10 companies manufacture supplies for Exploration Ground Systems based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
  • 1 company is supporting development work for NASA’s Human Landing System Program, which is the final mode of transportation that will take astronauts to the lunar surface throughout Artemis.
  • 1 company is working on Gateway, a multi-purpose outpost orbiting the moon that will provide essential support for long-term, human missions to the lunar surface and serve as a staging point for deep space exploration.

Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. in Windsor has been supplying NASA with fuel cell technology capable of powering flight and lunar surface missions.

“As a supplier to NASA and commercial space markets we congratulate NASA and all of the Artemis team on the success of the mission,” William Smith, president and CEO of Infinity, said. “We look forward to ongoing opportunities to support NASA’s goals to return to the moon and missions beyond.”

The Lee Company, a manufacturer of miniature fluid control products located in Westbrook, has been supplying NASA with plugs, valves, safety screens, restrictors, and flow fuses as part of the Artemis I program.

“This is a pivotal time for space travel and exploration, and we are excited about our role in enabling these missions and technologies,” Bill Lee, president and CEO of the Lee Company, said.

The Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD), which is located in Simsbury, has been supplying NASA with mission-critical initiation and separation ordnance products for Artemis I.

“EBAD is proud to be a partner in NASA’s Artemis I program,” Chad Thompson, president of EBAD, said. “We welcome the opportunity to continue our support of human spaceflight, which began in 1965 supplying products to the Saturn/Apollo programs. We are honored to be a small part of the diverse and brilliant team that will bring mankind safely to places never gone before and excited to learn what will be discovered by these bold actions.”

The 44 Connecticut suppliers include:

  • Berlin: Budney Industries Inc.
  • Berlin: Space Electronics LLC
  • Bethel: Eaton Corp.
  • Bloomfield: Kamatics Corp.
  • Branford: Oxley Inc.
  • Bristol: Colonial Spring Company
  • Danbury: Danbury Mission Technologies LLC
  • Danbury: Linde Inc.
  • Danbury: Vanguard Products Corp.
  • East Hartford: Pratt & Whitney
  • Enfield: Blue Thunder Technologies LLC
  • Enfield: PTR
  • Farmington: Otis Elevator Co.
  • Groton: Applied Physical Sciences Corp.
  • Manchester: Donwell Company Inc.
  • Manchester: Spartan Aerospace LLC
  • Middletown: Aerospace Techniques Inc.
  • Middletown: Pegasus Manufacturing Inc.
  • Milford: Air-Lock Inc.
  • Newington: Advanced Torque Products LLC
  • Norwalk: Omega Engineering Inc.
  • Old Saybrook: Privateer Ltd.
  • Oxford: Kimtron Inc.
  • Plainfield: BST Systems Inc.
  • Rocky Hill: Henkel Corp.
  • Seymour: J.V. Precision Machine Co.
  • Shelton: Butler America Aerospace LLC
  • Simsbury: Ensign-Bickford Aerospace
  • South Windsor: Aerospace Testing Laboratory Inc.
  • South Windsor: Bodycote Thermal Processing
  • Stafford: TTM Technologies Inc.
  • Stamford: Gartner Inc.
  • Stamford: Omega Engineering Inc.
  • Stratford: Ashcroft Inc.
  • Torrington: RBC Aircraft Bearings Inc.
  • Wallingford: Dexmet Corp.
  • Wallingford: Times Microwave Systems Inc.
  • Waterbury: Pharmacal Research Laboratories Inc.
  • Westbrook: The Lee Company
  • Windsor Locks: Collins Aerospace
  • Windsor Locks: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
  • Windsor: Fischer Technology Inc.
  • Windsor: Infinity Fuel Cell
  • Windsor: TLD America Corp.

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