D. Stewart Ditto II, Opinion contributor Published 6:44 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2019

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Kentucky is known for many things, including horse racing, bourbon, automobile manufacturingand Kentucky Fried Chicken, but its a little-known fact that the aerospace industry is a big part of our commonwealth enterprise.

Recently NASAmade a visit to our great state to recognizethree companies that contribute to its new large rocket, the Space Launch System, called SLS for short, which will launch within the next several years.

This new rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft, and together they will launch astronauts further into space than ever before. The first three missions of SLS and Orion are dedicated to first exploring space around the Moon and beyond and establishing a human presence on the moon, before venturing to further destinations. These three missions are dubbed Artemis 1, 2 and 3.

Kentucky is contributing a great deal to boost the Artemis program. Through Artemis, NASA is developing the core capabilities needed to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon and beyond, paving the way for human missions to Mars. Kentucky businesses have supported human space exploration for decades by supplying NASA programs with aluminum powders, high quality synthetic rubberand elastomer sealing used in multiple NASA programs.

Additionally, two NASA astronauts stem from Kentucky. Randy Bresnik was born on Fort Knox, and Terry Wilcutt was born in Russellville and attended Western Kentucky University.

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Below are some examples of the amazing work happening in Kentucky, by the companies visited by NASA.

Parker Hannifin Corporation is both an Orion and SLS supplier. The companys various divisions have supplied NASA with parts for many decades. Specifically, Parker Hannifin O-ring and Engineered Seals Division, based in Lexington, has been a key partner for NASAs elastomer sealing needs on many programs, including the Space Shuttle Program, from its inception all the way up to the Mars 2020 Rover and beyond.

American Synthetic Rubber Companywas built in Louisville in 1942. They began making synthetic rubber for use duringWorld War II in 1943and began making PBAA copolymer for NASA in 1957 and PBAN terpolymer in the 1960s. PBAN polymer was first used in the Minuteman I First Stage and the Polaris and Poseidon Missiles in 1960. PBAN was used for the space shuttle from 1977-2011. ASRC supplies HB polymer to Northrop Grumman for the Space Launch System rocket boosters.

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ECKART America Corporation has been manufacturing metallic pigments and powders since 1876. ECKART America produces the aluminum powder for Northrup Grumman for the SLS booster propellant at its site in Louisville. The Louisville site, then under different ownership, also manufactured the aluminum powder for the space shuttle program in the late 1980s.

I am proud of our more than 600 Kentucky companies in the aerospace and defense business that comprise 19,000 jobs in the aviation and aerospace cluster. Kentucky had more than $12.4 billionin aerospace and defense exports in 2018, making it Kentuckys No. 1exportand making Kentucky the No. 2 aerospace export state in the United States.

As we say at the Kentucky Aerospace Industry Consortium, We see limits and we test them. We see boundaries and we cross them. We think Kentucky is more than horses, bluegrassand bourbon. We see the future, and we're flying towardsit.

I feel honored to be a part of this great state, and I am excited to see our role in aerospace play out with NASA in the Artemis program. As the nation pushes the boundaries of space exploration, Kentucky will be there every step of the way.

If you want to see aerospace and aviation businesses in your region, see the map on the Kentucky Aerospace Industry Consortiums website.

D. Stewart Ditto II is executive director of theKentucky Aerospace Industry Consortium.

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Kentucky aerospace industry's work on rocket recognized by NASA - Courier Journal