Utah Celebrates Artemis II Success

The Artemis II launch was made possible, in part, by contributions from Utah. The massive fuel boosters that powered the rocket into space were manufactured at a facility located just north of Ogden.

Community Watch Party & Family Connections

Friends and family members gathered at the Utah State University Tremonton campus to witness the historic launch. Many attendees shared stories of their family members’ involvement in building the components that sent the astronauts to space.

A Legacy of Utah Space Pioneers

Mike Wadsworth, a teacher at Bear River Middle School, attended the launch with a unique family connection to space exploration. He is the grandson of Don Lind, the first Utahn in space in 1985.

Lind also played a crucial role in communications during the original Apollo missions. “When he said, ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,’ he was talking to my grandpa,” Wadsworth shared.

Northrop Grumman: Utah's Space Industry Hub

Wadsworth’s school is located just a few miles from Northrop Grumman, the company responsible for manufacturing the Artemis rocket boosters. He noted the local pride in having such a significant space industry presence nearby, saying, “Talk about space travel. ‘My dad works here or my uncle works here.’ It’s really cool, like, yeah, that’s right in our backyard.”

Booster Performance & Future Missions

Gage Swenson, a quality control specialist at Northrop Grumman, spent much of last year in Florida preparing the boosters for the Artemis II mission. He described watching the launch as a “surreal” experience.

Vital Contribution to the Space Race

Swenson emphasized the importance of Utah’s contribution to the mission’s success. “We are completely vital. The white boosters, the boosters that we make here, provide 75% of the boost. They get that rocket out of the atmosphere during the first two minutes,” he explained. He also stated, “This proved to the world that we are definitely still in the space race and, where it might take us three years to get a rocket done, it works every time.”

Looking Ahead: Refurbishment & NASA Role

After successfully delivering the Orion capsule to space, the boosters were recovered from the sea. They will be returned to Utah for refurbishment and refueling in preparation for future missions.

Swenson is relocating to Florida to take on a new role in quality control with NASA, expressing a sense of “pride in the work that we do and like it matters.”