Article Summary
- Chemring Energetic Devices, a Downers Grove-based company that engineers and manufactures devices for NASA, won the title of Coolest Thing Made in Illinois as part of the annual “Makers Madness” competition held by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.
- The devices, NASA Standard Initiators, have been used in space flight going back to the 1970s and are crucial to maneuvering, separation and staging.
- The NSIs triumphed over a field of more than 100 entries and after nearly 167,000 votes were cast.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
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.
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.
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