At 12:47 AM CST on November 16, the nation celebrated the launch of a momentous new chapter in human history as the long-awaited goal of returning humans to the Moon came one giant leap closer to reality.

Numerous Huntsville area NASA partners played a key role in bringing the Artemis program to life. While Boeing, Jacobs, Northrop Grumman, Aerojet Rocketdyne, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Teledyne Brown Engineering, and Dynetics serve as prime contractors, numerous other local partners were and continue to be deeply involved in the success of the program.

While millions watched nationwide, Artemis 1 launched successfully on the morning of November 16 at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center

In an interview with the Huntsville Business Journal, Doug Hurley, former astronaut and senior director of strategy and business development, explained that “Artemis I is an incredible first step to humanity’s return to the Moon, and Northrop Grumman is proud to continue its legacy of powering NASA’s human spaceflight programs with the five-segment solid rocket boosters.”

Beyond the power displayed at launch, we are using our proven technologies to go farther and protect crew with our contributions to the launch abort system, give them a home with HALO, and provide even more lift capabilities as we develop our next generation BOLE boosters to support Artemis’ long term vision and challenging objectives.”

Teledyne Brown Engineering designed and built the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA), which is a part of the rocket that contains the crucial system that allowed the separation of the second stage and Orion crew capsule from the Core Stage. The LVSA also provided physical and acoustic protection of the second stage.

“Watching Artemis I successfully launch into space is a moment that 50 years from now people will want to know what you were doing, and where you were watching,” said Scott Hall, President of Teledyne Brown Engineering. “Not only did we have employees watching this monumental event at Kennedy Space Center, and from the Control Room at Marshall Space Flight Center, we had many gathering at other venues, or on their couches, with their families, friends and loved ones.

This launch demonstrates that once again, as a community, as a nation, and worldwide, we were all joined together to experience something great. We at Teledyne Brown Engineering believe in this mission and will continue to build and support hardware and systems to go beyond what we thought was possible not so long ago.”

Steve Cook, President of the Leidos Dynetics Group, expressed great excitement at the successful launch of Artemis I, stating that Dynetics “could not be more thrilled to have played a role in this beginning stage.”

Cook noted that Dynetics produced a number of testing articles including the core stage pathfinder and the thrust vector control exhaust gas heat exchanger. He added that future missions will include the SLS Block-1B, which will feature Dynetics’ Universal Stage Adapter and Laser Air Monitoring System. “We plan to be a part of this program for all trips to the moon and beyond.”

Dynetics also created two structural simulators for core stage propulsion tank testing, which tested potential needs prior to final production of the fuel tanks that powered the RS-25 main engines.

“We also were proud to be part of the development of the core stage pathfinder alongside Radiance Technologies and G&G Steel,” Cook said. The 212-foot core stage steel replica was used to determine the path NASA would need to take to deliver the rocket’s largest element – the core stage – during ground and water operations.

“Our thrust vector control exhaust gas heat exchanger was developed as part of our work with Boeing on this program. It pulls the cold gas’s exhaust within the core stage and ensures temperatures are maintained during flight,” Cook explained, adding that Dynetics’ work on SLS is far from over.

According to Dynetics Space Systems Division Manager Robert Wright, the Universal Stage Adapter (USA), currently in development, will fly on Artemis IV and Dynetics’ Laser Air Monitoring System (LAMS) will be used in the Orion capsule on Artemis II.

“We have only just begun with our work on this vital program,” Wright said.

Dynetics is also in the running for the Human Landing System contract. Jonathan Pettus, Senior Vice President and Operations Manager for Civil, Space and Defense for the Leidos Dynetics Group stated that in addition to developing its HLS concept, the company sees great opportunities to support NASA in the delivery of crew and cargo to the lunar surface.

Guests at the Banana Creek viewing site watch the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight

“In addition, we see opportunities to support NASA’s planned infrastructure to support exploration on the surface with capabilities such as a lunar rover, surface power, and a surface habitat,” Pettus said. “These enable truly sustainable human exploration and we want to be part of the long term mission.”

At the time of this writing, the Orion capsule had successfully completed its outbound powered flyby of the Moon, passing within 81 miles of the lunar surface. Shortly after the outbound flyby burn, the spacecraft passed about 1,400 miles above the Apollo 11 landing site at Tranquility Base, then over the Apollo 12 site at an altitude of approximately 7,700 miles.

“The mission continues to proceed as we had planned, and the ground systems, our operations teams, and the Orion spacecraft continue to exceed expectations,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager at a November 21 briefing at Johnson Space Center. “We continue to learn along the way about this new, deep-space spacecraft.”

On November 25, Orion traveled about 57,287 miles beyond the Moon, passing the record set by Apollo 13 for the farthest distance traveled by a spacecraft designed for humans. Artemis reached its maximum distance from Earth of 268,552 miles yesterday.

The Huntsville Business Journal will continue to follow the Artemis I mission, which will end its 25-day mission on December 11 with a splashdown in the Pacific. Images provided by NASA and can be viewed here.