On Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine showed off the Space Launch System (SLS) liquid-fueled rocket stage that will send the first Artemis mission to space. The core stage, built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is the largest NASA has produced since the Apollo Program.
NASA Space Flight Awareness Team Award
Surrounded by key NASA personnel and officials from Congress, as well as state and regional government, Bridenstine said the milestone marked a new chapter in the Artemis story as the agency works to answer the charge from to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.
As part of the ceremony NASA took time to present Space Flight Awareness (SFA) awards to contractors and individuals for outstanding support of human spaceflight. For Futuramic the award comes on the heels of the company’s vital work on NASA’s Space Launch System program, which Futuramic developed and executed in collaboration with Boeing. Futuramic was commended for its unwavering attention to technical excellence and project management, while providing accelerated services for the Space Launch System in support of NASA’s Artemis Program.
Also recognized with individual Space Flight Awareness awards were Futuramic associates Martin, Anderson, Scott Strnad, and Bill Wilds, all serving on the NASA System Tunnel Assembly & Horizontal Integration team. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Don Pettit were on hand to present the awards and Steve Burks accepted the award on behalf of the entire team.
Photo Credit: Jude Guidry / NASA
“We are honored to receive the prestigious Space Flight Awareness award from NASA,” said John Couch, Futuramic’s vice president. “We have worked with NASA and our industry partners for decades to support America’s space program—and this award is a testament to the expertise and hard work of our extremely talented and dedicated workforce.” John continued.
Space Flight Awareness nominees must meet strict criteria. Suppliers must generate high-quality products, demonstrate excellent technical knowledge, and adhere to schedules based on a documented system that shows valid data in the areas of quality, schedule, and cost.
About Futuramic Tool & Engineering Co.
As a key supplier, Futuramic is helping NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, to complete assembly of the rocket’s core stage for EM-1 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Most recently, Futuramic designed and completed initial assembly on both simulators for the liquid oxygen tank and liquid hydrogen tank structural test articles. The two test articles have identical structures to flight tanks that are part of the rocket’s massive core stage. On a mission, the tanks hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to help power the rocket’s four RS-25 engines that will send SLS and Orion to the Moon. During tests, the simulators allow engineers to apply millions of pounds of force to the tanks to test their strength and ensure SLS is safe to fly.