It’s been nearly a decade since NASA last launched an astronaut into space from U.S. soil. But a new space program is on the horizon and one Oklahoma company is designing some of the most critical systems that will be onboard Orion, NASA’s newest spacecraft.
“We have the nation’s best and brightest building part of the spacecraft,” said Charlie Lundquist, Orion Deputy Program Manager.
Stillwater, Oklahoma’s Frontier Electronic Systems (FES) is building electronics for the capsule’s life support systems. The company also made the hand controllers which will be used to guide the capsule.
“It’s our belief that it’s gotta work right the first time, every time,” said FES Aerospace Program Manager Waylon Shields. “…One of the sayings around here is ‘the road to Mars goes through Stillwater, Oklahoma’.”
NASA plans to send one more unmanned flight in 2020 and anticipates sending a flight with a crew by 2024.
