3,200 votes later: Artemis II aluminum plates win West Virginia’s ‘Coolest’ contest

Aluminum plates manufactured by Constellium in Ravenswood, West Virginia, which helped protect NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft, have won the inaugural ‘Coolest Thing Made in West Virginia’ competition.

The aluminum components covered much of the spacecraft, extending from the launch vehicle to the crew capsule that carried astronauts around the Moon in April 2026. The material had to combine light weight, strength and durability while withstanding the extreme heat of launch and the intense cold of deep space.

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Aluminum takes the spotlight

The Artemis II mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, and orbited the Moon before the crew returned safely to Earth. Aluminum plates produced at Constellium’s Ravenswood facility formed part of the spacecraft’s protective structure throughout the mission.

Constellium Ravenswood President Brian McCallie said the material requirements were particularly demanding because it needed to withstand both extreme heat during takeoff and extreme cold in deep space.

“Knowing that our folks here had their hands on an aluminum plate that carried astronauts around the moon and safely landed them back in the Pacific,” McCallie said, describing the achievement as a source of “extreme sense of pride” for the Ravenswood workforce.

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3,200 votes decide the winner

More than 3,200 votes were cast in the inaugural competition. Five finalists were shortlisted before Constellium was announced as the winner at Blue Ridge Community & Technical College in conjunction with National Manufacturing Day.

Bill Bissett, president of the West Virginia Manufacturer’s Association, which sponsored the contest, said Constellium’s contribution to the Artemis II program — which carried astronauts around the Moon — made it the winning entry.

The recognition highlights a distinctly high-performance application for aluminum, where low weight, strength and resistance to extreme temperatures were critical to the mission.

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