The street to Mars goes through Clearwater. At least, that was part of the message Friday as Lockheed Martin and Honeywell in Clearwater signed a long term agreement to work on NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

The Orion vehicle is set to return people to the moon as a major aspect of NASA’s Artemis program and eventually could fly individuals to Mars. In any case, cash reserved for space is spent here on Earth.

As Representative Charlie Crist put it, space is powering Florida’s economy. Truth be told, he stated, this deal and the resulting missions are nothing less than our future.

“The spacecraft that will be taking Americans back to the moon is being partly built right here in our backyard and that’s incredible,” Rep. Crist offered. “It’s an incredible opportunity for Pinellas manufacturers, technicians, and engineers to be part of a new era in American space exploration.”

Friday’s ceremonial agreement signing between Lockheed Martin and Honeywell represents a 12-mission deal that keeps going numerous years into the future.

It doesn’t stop with a trip to the moon in 2024. Plans are to eventually take Orion more distant than everyone has ever gone previously, on to Mars during the 2030s.

Honeywell in Clearwater will work on a lot of the avionics, the GPS, and the PCs for the Orion spacecraft. Those are critical components that will be key to getting from direct A toward B, yet more significantly, from point B back to point A.

“The pressure is incredible to build a quality product that’s going to ensure the safety of the astronaut, that’s going to ensure the success of the mission. We don’t take any shortcuts on anything,” insisted Mike Elias, Honeywell’s vice president for space business. “Everything is thought of as the best quality you could get so we ensure the safety of the astronauts and success of the mission.