As Artemis II splashed down into the ocean following its historic trip around the moon, millions watched the moment unfold. But for the president of an eastern Ontario business, something on the screen caught her eye. “I’m like wait a minute, I think I saw our flare,” said Rhiannon Iles, president of HFI Pyrotechnics. “I went back and rewound it to make sure and took a picture of the television, because I couldn’t believe it.” She says what she spotted was one of her company’s marine markers, used as part of the recovery effort here on Earth. “We’re the only supplier (of the U.S. Navy,) so if they’re using a marine flare, it had to be ours,” she said. HFI Pyrotechnics, based north of Prescott, has been the sole supplier of marine flares to the U.S. Navy since 2012. The markers release smoke once deployed, helping crews track wind direction and ocean currents. They’re commonly used in search and rescue missions and military training exercises, but in this case, it helped crews recover the astronauts in the Pacific Ocean after the mission’s 10-day journey. “From what we can tell, it might have been placed in the landing zone,” said Iles. “We don’t know that for sure, but it was certainly there, as they were jettisoning the boats out to the capsule, and it was set in such a way that they were likely using it for current as well as for smoke, for the wind direction.” For Iles and her team, the realization was emotional. “It was a big surprise,” said Avril Toth, team lead of smoke and sound. “We didn’t know anything about it, and it was very exciting.” Each marine marker is made by hand at the company’s facility and then sent out in the world to do an important job. Alongside its work with the U.S. Navy, HFI also produces training products for the Canadian Armed Forces. “We have a range of training products which are really about creating simulated conditions for the battlefield and so we make products that make a lot of noise as well as a lot of smoke,” said Martin Brown, VP of Growth and Development. “We see this as a real, valuable way of keeping Canada strong.” And while the mission itself took place thousands of kilometres away, the moment felt much closer to home. “Having a Canadian astronaut involved and then seeing our little marker there, playing a role in bringing him home safely, it really meant a lot to us,” Iles said.
