Representatives from NASA visited Smiths Titeflex in Laconia Thursday to emphasize the company's efforts in bringing humans to space.
All the external plumbing for NASA’s Space Launch System - which the agency says will be its most powerful rocket ever built and will pave the way for travel to Mars - is manufactured at Smiths Triflex.
Astronaut Barry Wilmore was on hand to give a presentation to employees that included photos from the 178 days he spent in space.
"They need to understand that what they do is vital to the success of our human space flight program,” Wilmore says. “And that's why we came."
According to NASA, a total of six New Hampshire companies provide services and supplies for its Orion human spacecraft, rockets and ground systems.
"Just seeing some of the pictures and hearing his stories from being in space just makes it feel like what we do really is important," says Artie Kirk, a quality inspector at Smiths Titeflex. "Very proud, I guess, is the best explanation."
NASA also presented the company with a banner that reads "The Road to the Moon and Mars Goes Through New Hampshire."
