Ten years ago, Nazdar was honored to host astronaut Joan Higginbotham, who spoke to employees as a thank you for Nazdar's contribution to the U.S. space shuttle program.
Nazdar had supplied ADE Series Inks to mark components on the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters for identification purposes. After propelling NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery from Earth, the rocket boosters were jettisoned and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean, where retrieval and identification made analysis, refurbishment, and reuse for future missions possible.
The solid rocket boosters were manufactured by ATK Launch Systems and provided more than six million pounds of thrust as the shuttle launched into orbit – the same shuttle that had carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space 17 years earlier.
Higginbotham toured Nazdar's Chicago manufacturing facility, gave a 30 minute presentation describing her work on the Space Shuttle STS-116 Discovery, answered questions, and presented a commemorative plaque to Jeff Thrall, Nazdar CEO.
"This was a tremendous opportunity for our employees to see the end result of our product," said Mr. Thrall. "It helps promote a sense of pride in our work, especially when we see the shuttle leave Earth’s atmosphere."
The visit was arranged by ATK Launch Systems of Brigham City, UT, as part of the NASA Space Flight Awareness program. The purpose of the program is to ensure employees involved in human space flight are aware of the importance of their role in promoting astronaut safety and mission success in the critical, challenging task of flying humans in space.