Device that helps make space travel possible named ‘Coolest Thing Made
in Illinois’
[April 16, 2026]
By Nikoel Hytrek and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
SPRINGFIELD – Astronauts just returned from their first voyage around
the moon since 1972 and a device built by an Illinois company helped
fuel the mission’s success.
Created and manufactured in Downers Grove, the NASA Standard Initiator,
or NSI, is a small electrically activated pyrotechnic device that
initiates propulsion by sparking a chain reaction of heat and pressure
in space flight.
“Anytime you have a space launch, anytime you have a separation
activity, particularly in space, you need something to push that away
and get something to light that initiating event. And that’s what that
device does,” said Steven Hill, president of Chemring Energetic Devices
Inc.
Chemring and the NSI won the 2026 “Makers Madness” contest on Wednesday,
being named “The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” for 2026. The
competition is held annually by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.
“The NASA Standard Initiator helped make Artemis II’s historic mission
possible and literally took Illinois innovation to the moon,” said Gov.
JB Pritzker, who presented the award at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion
in Springfield. “Illinois’ remarkable investors are shaping the world’s
future every day, and our state’s thriving manufacturing sector
continues to power that progress.”
Artemis II wasn’t Chemring’s first trip to space. The device is also on
the Mars lander and Atlas satellite launchers. Hill said the company’s
involvement in space goes back to the Apollo missions.
“The founders of the company, many years ago, were in the ordnance
business,” Hill said. “And when you think about space, you need
something that’s highly reliable, that’s going to work every time. And
that’s about the chemistry, that’s about the energetic material. And
then using the electrical signal to go off and start that device. That’s
what the company wanted to go off and do, and that’s how they got the
first contract with NASA.”
The devices are fully engineered and manufactured in Illinois. Hill said
80 NSIs are used for space launches and Chemring is the only
manufacturer of the product that’s qualified by NASA.
“As the only provider of NSI initiators to NASA, Chemring Energetic
Devices is proud to contribute to humanity’s most ambitious
achievements,” said Karen Kern, the principal contracts manager for
Chemring.
In addition to its contract with NASA, Chemring works with Elon Musk’s
SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance.
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Steven Hill, president of Chemring Energetic Devices, accepts the
award for The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois as part of the annual
Makers Madness competition hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’
Association. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Nikoel Hyrtrek)
Chemring also manufactures similar devices for aircraft ejection seats,
called Cartridge Actuated Devices and Propellant Actuated Devices, or
CAD/PADs and flight suit testers.
“When you think about pilots going out to the flight deck, you see them
in their flight suits. They have to test the pressure in those suits,”
Hill said. “We built a tester system that goes off and evaluates whether
or not that can be effectively used.”
Chemring’s NSI bested a field of more than 100 other
Illinois-manufactured products. Over eight weeks, 167,000 votes were
cast to narrow the field down to four finalists.
“This year’s winner is truly out of this world and represents the very
best of Illinois manufacturing, embodying the creativity and innovation
that is the hallmark of our incredible industry,” Mark Denzler,
president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said.
Last year’s winner was the Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump,
which provides water for aerial firefighting teams.
Other finalists for the 2026 competition included:
The John Deere Combine, manufactured in East Moline.
Duck Skimmer, a floating weir skimmer used to take the surface layer off
the water to remove duck weed, water meal and other pollutants. It’s
manufactured by Elastec in Carmi.
Aerapy PPR HVAC UV System, a system that disinfects the air with
ultraviolet light, reducing airborne pathogens. This technology is
manufactured in Aerapy in St. Charles.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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