JACKSON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The largest employer in Jackson County, West Virginia, is helping a team of NASA scientists literally reach for the stars.
The Constellium Plant in Ravenswood hosted representatives from NASA on Wednesday to speak about the importance of their work manufacturing parts for the Artemis Project, which is a campaign meant to advance human exploration to space.
The plant manufactures aluminum-lithium alloys and other advanced solutions, which are fundamental parts of spaceflight.
“We couldn’t do this without you. That is a fact. You were on that rocket ship, tip to tail in on the spacecraft, your work is there,” says Marcia Lindstrom, Strategic Communications Manager, NASA MSFC.
In November 2022, NASA launched Artemis 1, marking the return of lunar exploration after five decades since the end of the Apollo Mission. Now, Constellium is creating parts for Artemis 2, a mission that will carry four astronauts into space and bring them home safely.
“We’re all just ordinary kids from ordinary places. But we are. We have a chance to touch the extraordinary. And what do you roll out of these gates is truly extraordinary,” says Douglas H. Wheelock, (Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) NASA Astronaut.
NASA representatives visited the Ravenswood plant Wednesday to give a heartfelt thank you to workers making their mission possible. They also shared a glimpse of what their work does, not just for America, but for all of mankind.
“Your fingerprints will be on this rocket. Your fingerprints will be on this metal that’s on the moon,” says Wheelock.
Whether in space or on the ground, a little hard work can go incredibly far. The Artemis 2 is expected to launch in 2026.
To learn more about the Artemis Project, click here. To learn more about Constellium’s partnership with NASA, click here.
