PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A rocket built and tested in Palm Beach County is helping NASA on its newest mission to the moon.
Alligators roam off the Beeline Highway and so do rocket scientists.
In dirt- and dust-free shoes, gowns and goggles, WPTV stepped into the heart of Aerojet Rocketdyne west of Jupiter with three of their best and brightest employees.
"I went to FSU," said Morgan Bublitz, a manufacturing engineer.
Bublitz graduated from Florida State University in 2015 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
"I'm a senior manager of systems engineering and integration," Cassondra Bigini, a reliability watchdog, said.
And Matt Bernfeld is the director of operations for their pride and joy — the RL10 rocket engine.
"It's an incredibly complex engine," Bernfeld said.
It's an engine manufactured, assembled and tested on-site in western Palm Beach County.
"It's also a very reliable engine. It's been around since the 1960s, so it's been through lots of upgrades," Bernfeld told WPTV. "The technical advancements in it are great, but it's still a fairly simple engine."
The big first stage of Artemis I, along with twin boosters, will power it off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral and into earth's orbit.
Then an RL10 engine attached to the Orion capsule will fire up and propel Orion to the moon.
Bublitz explained how the RL10 engine works.
"It all starts here. The inlet valves, fuel comes down on here, shoots into the chamber and comes back around," he said.
The fuel is a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, and the 1,500 parts of this engine must work flawlessly.
"We are essentially responsible for the reliability of the engine," Bigini said. "We are looking at system safety, essentially developing a user's manual guide for NASA, for instance, the Artemis I."
There are no second chances.
"It's up in the vacuum of space before it lights for the first time. There is no going back. It either works or we are having a bad day,” Bernfeld said.
It is an enormous responsibility knowing that humans will ride these engines someday.
"I mean, the stakes are much higher when the payload can shake your hand, right," Bublitz said.
They have enormous pride in their work, as well.
"To have the RL10 be the upper stage for that vehicle and send us to the moon and eventually beyond is a big deal," Bernfeld said.
The history books await the upcoming launch.
"It's very inspiring for this new generation. I'm excited for them to see the first woman and first person of color land on the moon,” Bigini said.
Inspiration is being crafted by dedicated women and men — one rocket engine at a time.
