Major Tool & Machine, supplier on NASA’s Space Launch System, a critical piece of NASA’s return to the Moon and journey to deep space, met with Members of Congress and Congressional staff, including representatives from Indiana to advocate on behalf of suppliers nation-wide.

More than 18,000 jobs across all 50 states are involved in launching the first woman and next man to the Moon, and Major Tool & Machine highlighted their contributions along with about 100 Space Launch System, Exploration Ground Systems and Orion supplier companies from across 29 states at the ninth annual suppliers’ conference, held virtually this year.

Major Tool & Machine in support of NASA’s Space Launch System is supporting the missions that will ultimately send humans farther into deep space than ever before. 

Established in 1946, Major Tool & Machine Inc. (MTM) is a contract manufacturer in Indianapolis, Indiana, that provides manufacturing solutions for our customer's most complex needs. MTM specializes in large CNC milling and turning machining, high-speed machining, manual and robotic welding, engineering, CAD/CAM programming, project management, inspection, and assembly services.

Under NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will first test the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights, and the journey to the launch pad for Artemis I is well under way. The agency recently performed a test of the rocket’s core stage, and the Orion spacecraft transferred from Lockheed Martin to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems team at Kennedy Space Center for processing and preparation for launch. In addition, Exploration Ground Systems is nearing the completion of booster stacking, the assembly of the five-segment 177-foot long twin solid rocket boosters, at Kennedy’s massive Vehicle Assembly Building.

Major Tool &Machine is supporting NASA’s goal of sending humans back to the Moon and then to Mars through its contribution to Artemis’ deep space exploration systems, while advancing American manufacturing, technology and innovation, and helping to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers.

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As a thank you for the work we contributed to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, Major Tool & Machine was granted the privilege to send several objects into space aboard the flight test that took place on December 20th, 2019.

During the flight test, Starliner orbited the Earth 33 times and covered a distance of 854,367 miles before touching down on December 22nd, 2019 in New Mexico.

MTM chose to send our company flag signed by several individuals involved with the program, along with a small medallion and patch as seen in the photographs. Incredible work by everyone involved.

Established in 1946, Major Tool & Machine Inc. (MTM) is a contract manufacturer in Indianapolis, Indiana that provides manufacturing solutions for our customer's most complex needs. MTM specializes in large CNC milling and turning machining, manual and robotic welding, engineering, program management, inspection, and assembly services.

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NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration featured Major Tool & Machine and our work with Aerojet Rocketdyne in their latest edition of SLS Highlights.

Major Tool & Machine works with Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce critical hardware for the RS-25 restart production contract. Combining state-of-the-art CNC machines and innovative processes, Major Tool has successfully produced parts for all sections of the RS-25 engine: the powerhead, the main combustion chamber, and the nozzle. The company also supports the SLS program with machining and testing for the boosters, core stage, Orion crew module, and Orion stage adapter.

Established in 1946, Major Tool & Machine Inc. (MTM) is a contract manufacturer in Indianapolis, Indiana that provides manufacturing solutions for our customer's most complex needs. MTM specializes in large CNC milling and turning machining, manual and robotic welding, engineering, CAD/CAM programming, project management, inspection, and assembly services.

View the publication here.

Major Tool & Machine has been awarded the NASA Space Flight Awareness Supplier Award!

We were nominated to receive this award by our customers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Northrop Grumman. Recipients are chosen based on their production of high-quality products, excellent technical and cost performance, and adherence to schedules.

Less than 1% of the supply base for the space program will receive this award and we are grateful to be recognized for our efforts.

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The road to Mars goes through Indiana and Major Tool & Machine! We are thrilled to announce that MTM was featured in the July 2019 edition of Indianapolis Monthly. Major Tool & Machine continues to be a proud partner and supporter of the American space industry supporting the Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engine program for NASA.

Four astronauts are awaiting launch in Orion’s crew module—a cone, the infrastructure, and panels of which were milled and machined at Major Tool & Machine in downtown Indianapolis. On board, the crew flips and toggles any number of switches that were fabricated just down I-65 in Southport at JFW Industries. Outside the spacecraft, mechanics and technicians perform last-minute checks on the service module atop aerial lift platforms made at Lift-A-Loft Corporation in Muncie.

Ignition. At Mission Control’s command, four RS-25 rockets, also made at Major Tool, ignite, creating a massive rumble that puts stress on the craft’s nuts, bolts, screws, and rivets, some of which were forged at Indiana Aircraft Hardware in Fortville. Any potential damage that rattle might cause is being mitigated by vibration-damping materials from Damping Technologies in Mishawaka.

The article also highlights our country’s growing need for skilled trades, and the ways that Major Tool & Machine is working to address these needs.

On its sprawling 600,000-square-foot Hillside neighborhood campus, the same facilities where the Orion rockets and crew module were built, the company has dedicated half of an entire structure, Building 4U, to classrooms and workshops. They’ve brought on two full-time on-staff instructors to give busloads of young men and women hands-on training in welding and machining. Major Tool also sends representatives out into communities, urban and rural, to let young adults know opportunity is out there. “Not every person understands that there are alternatives to college,” says Kevin Bowling, senior vice president at Major Tool. “Not everyone knows that they can earn a very good living in manufacturing. We engage at the high school and even middle school level to provide information for these kids to make the decision to be in manufacturing. We see it as a necessary investment to make sure we’re strong for the years to come.”

Click here to view the entire article.

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Courtesy NASA