Astronaut Josh Cassada, right, pins a silver Snoopy award onto 40-year employee Matthew Ososky during an event at the Futuramic Tool & Engineering facility in Warren, Tuesday May 21, 2019. The award has traveled to space and is given by astronauts to NASA employees and contractors for recognition for their work with flight safety or mission success. Ososky has worked at the facility, which builds parts that will be used in future NASA programs, for over 40 years. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

By BREANA NOBLE

The Detroit News

AP Member Exchange

WARREN– Houston, NASA is ready for liftoff — well, almost, thanks to a Warren-based design and build business.

Futuramic Tool & Engineering contributed more than 100 parts to the creation of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration rocket. Under an accelerated timeline, the rocket is expected to launch into space in 2020, take astronauts to the moon under an accelerated timeline by 2024 and, eventually, travel to Mars. For Futuramic’s work in meeting tight deadlines, NASA recently honored the company with its Supplier of the Year Award.

“Who would have imagined this company would be helping put boots on the moon with eyes to Mars when the founder first opened its doors in 1955?” John Couch, Futuramic vice president, told The Detroit News. “It is the realization of the American dream for me, for our employees and for the company.”

NASA is preparing a series of increasingly complex missions to create a sustained presence on the moon. The $5.7 billion Space Launch System deep-space rocket to which Futuramic contributed is the only rocket that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies to the moon on a single mission. Its 8.8 million pounds of thrust is more powerful than any other rocket, said Marcia Lindstrom, manager of strategic communications for the launch system.

“This is the backbone of deep-space exploration, more importantly, human deep space exploration,” she said.

Futuramic has worked on the project for about 10 years, Couch said. But its work had to move at lightspeed when President Donald Trump called NASA to move up its timeline from 2028 to 2024.

In January, the agency told Chicago-based Boeing Co. — which is building the launch system’s core stage where the rocket’s fuel tanks and engines are held — it had to deliver the section in 2019, a four-and-a-half month acceleration, said Craig Williams, Boeing Space Launch System core stage integrated product team director. Boeing also had to build the rocket’s largest section horizontally instead of vertically as it had been planning for the past seven years because of the configuration of NASA’s Michaud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

“It was a heroic effort,” Williams said. “Futuramic was there every step of the way.”

The company turned around a 60,000-pound tool on which one of the engines will sit from concept to creation in 42 days. It produced an internal access platform to go inside the rocket’s boattail and engine section in six weeks.

Futuramic also made 10 other new tools to help with the sideways assembly adjustment.

“It was 24/7; we worked around the clock designing and fabricating and shipping it all,” Couch said. “I’m very proud to see it come together.”