Small device from Downers Grove energetic and electro-mechanical manufacturer played big role in Artemis II mission

When astronauts like those on Artemis II go to the moon, they're trusting thousands of people they'll never meet.

A couple of hundred work right in Downers Grove, manufacturing the small product that makes a big difference.

When Artemis II took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier this month, it was a massive undertaking that wouldn't have been possible without a teeny-tiny part.

"It's always great to watch some of those launches, and I'm like, I could have touched some of those parts that are now in space," said Tiffany Oken, engineering manager at Chemring Energetic Devices.

It's where they make the NASA Standard Initiator or an NSI—a one-inch-tall, three-quarter-inch-wide device. Several of them were used to fire at precise milliseconds to trigger the explosion and launch the spacecraft.

If it sounds confusing, don't worry. You're not alone.

"I didn't know there was aerospace and defense stuff here," said Chemring's president, Steven Hill. 

Hill, an Englewood native, only heard of the product when he started a year ago, but he showed CBS News Chicago around the factory where it can take two years to make just one of the initiators—each costing around $2,000.

Marissa: Do you guys feel the pressure to make sure you're creating the most perfect product so things go off when they are supposed to?

Steven: We absolutely feel the pressure to go do that.

He says if it doesn't work and doesn't work properly, it can affect whether a $1 billion mission succeeds or fails, which is why they perform rigorous testing.

And it's not Artemis II that Chemring manufactured the NASA standard initiator for. They have been making them for NASA since Apollo and have created products for SpaceX and the Air Force.

Marissa: The day of the launch, were you watching?

Steven: Absolutely. We watch every facet of it.

The initiators are used throughout the flight in 80 different spots to trigger separations or safety systems, and they watched until the very end

"Of course, I watched the splashdown because the NSI is involved in that part as well. So I was just cheering on my couch because everything worked as it should," Oken said.

It's the satisfaction Chemring employees feel when they complete their own mission to get the astronauts to space and back safely.