From Stillwater to the stars: Oklahoma company builds parts for Artemis II moon mission
By Olivia Hickey
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STILLWATER, Oklahoma (KOCO) — When astronauts lift off toward the moon Wednesday, they will be using critical parts built in Oklahoma.
Dozens of critical pieces of technology that will help in the launch of Artemis II are made by Frontier Electronic Systems in Stillwater.
“This has been years of development, building products in anticipation of this. There are not a lot of people in the U.S. or the world who can say, ‘Yeah, we touched these parts going to space.’ That’s cool!” Darryl Smith, program manager at Frontier Electronic Systems, said.
More than 20 pieces of equipment that Artemis II will use are made in Stillwater, including the rotational hand controller astronauts will use in their capsule.
“If they move forward, it’ll pitch forward or pitch back sideways,” Smith said.
Inside a former Payne County hotel, it’s all hands on deck at Frontier Electronic Systems, where they are putting together critical aerospace technology equipment.
“There’s a slot that goes into this. So, many inspections,” Michelle Aiken, senior quality and compliance representative at Frontier Electronic Systems, said.
Aiken said that these panels took years to build and emphasized the importance of precision.
“If you want to do something challenging and do something that means a lot, this is the place to be,” she said.
Frontier Electronic Systems has been part of several launches, including Artemis I, which paved the way for this moon mission.
Aiken said that this will be the first launch she had a hand in.
After tuning in to the takeoff, the team at Frontier Electronic Systems will move on to their next mission.
“We here at Frontier are continuing to build additional products for additional launches,” Smith said.
The launch is set for 5:34 p.m. CT on April 1.
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