The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission visited NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility on Sept. 3, 2026, marking their first return to the New Orleans factory since their historic test flight in April. The astronauts met with the workforce to share their gratitude for the facility's structural and manufacturing contributions to the mission's success. During an employee all-hands event, the crew reflected on their journey around the Moon, thanked Michoud team members for their contributions to the mission, and answered questions from the workforce. Artemis II was the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen completed the approximately 10-day mission around the Moon in April 2026.

The Worm Moon rises over the city of New Orleans home of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility on the evening of March 13th, 2025.

The Artemis IV core stage’s boat tail section is lifted and moved from its production area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Aug. 24, 2026. The boat tail refers to the aerodynamic portion positioned directly above the exposed RS-25 engine nozzles, which comprise the lower portions of the core stage’s engine section. The boat tail critically shields the rocket’s lowermost hardware, including the engines’ upper components, plumbing, and critical control systems, protecting them from the extreme heat, vibrations, and pressures during launch. The completed hardware is lifted via the factory’s overhead crane system and secured onto two self-propelled modular transporters—NASA’s mobile heavy transport platforms,—for a short, low-speed drive across the facility, from the factory to the Pegasus barge. From New Orleans, the hardware travels to Kennedy Space Center for future engine section integration, and eventual stacking following the Artemis III mission. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars—for the benefit of all.

The Artemis IV core stage’s boat tail section is lifted and moved from its production area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Aug. 24, 2026. The boat tail refers to the aerodynamic portion positioned directly above the exposed RS-25 engine nozzles, which comprise the lower portions of the core stage’s engine section. The boat tail critically shields the rocket’s lowermost hardware, including the engines’ upper components, plumbing, and critical control systems, protecting them from the extreme heat, vibrations, and pressures during launch. The completed hardware is lifted via the factory’s overhead crane system and secured onto two self-propelled modular transporters—NASA’s mobile heavy transport platforms,—for a short, low-speed drive across the facility, from the factory to the Pegasus barge. From New Orleans, the hardware travels to Kennedy Space Center for future engine section integration, and eventual stacking following the Artemis III mission. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars—for the benefit of all.

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission visited NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility on Sept. 3, 2026, marking their first return to the New Orleans factory since their historic test flight in April. The astronauts met with the workforce to share their gratitude for the facility's structural and manufacturing contributions to the mission's success. During an employee all-hands event, the crew reflected on their journey around the Moon, thanked Michoud team members for their contributions to the mission, and answered questions from the workforce. Artemis II was the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen completed the approximately 10-day mission around the Moon in April 2026.

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission visited NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility on Sept. 3, 2026, marking their first return to the New Orleans factory since their historic test flight in April. The astronauts met with the workforce to share their gratitude for the facility's structural and manufacturing contributions to the mission's success. During an employee all-hands event, the crew reflected on their journey around the Moon, thanked Michoud team members for their contributions to the mission, and answered questions from the workforce. Artemis II was the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen completed the approximately 10-day mission around the Moon in April 2026.

The liquid hydrogen tank that will be part of the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage is being prepared for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Eventually, the tank will be connected to the engine section that will house the four RS-25 engines. Once the aft simulator is attached, the LH2 tank undergoes non-destructive evaluation, which will test weld strength and ensure the tank is structurally sound. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 432 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch the Artemis III mission to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon.

Technicians transported the assembled upper part of the Artemis II core stage to the final assembly area inside the factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. On Jan 10, the forward assembly, left was moved next to the Artemis II liquid hydrogen tank, which has been undergoing assembly. Next, Boeing, the lead core stage contractor, will join the forward assembly and the liquid hydrogen tank to complete most of the core stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the first crew on an Artemis mission. The core stage consists of five major structures that are built, outfitted, and then connected to form the final stage. The forward skirt, liquid oxygen and intertank were connected and tested to form the 66-foot forward assembly. After the forward assembly is joined with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank, only the engine section, the fifth piece of the stage, will need to be added to complete the Artemis II core stage. The core stage serves as the backbone of the rocket, supporting the weight of the payload, upper stage, and crew vehicle, as well as the thrust of its four RS-25 engines and two five-segment solid rocket boosters attached to the engine and intertank sections. On Artemis II, the SLS rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and a crew, sending them into lunar orbit, in preparation for later Artemis missions that will enable the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis IV from the Vertical Assembly Building to Cell G for weld priming. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis IV mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’ Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stage’s forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This photo shows the second RS-25 engine attached to the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for the agency’s Artemis I mission to the Moon. Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans structurally mated the second of four engines to the stage on Oct. 30 and are currently integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure to complete the installation. Integration of the RS-25 engines to the recently completed core stage structure is a collaborative, multistep process for NASA and its partners Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and Aerojet Rocketdyne, the RS-25 engines lead contractor. The four RS-25 engines for Artemis I are modified heritage flight hardware from the Space Shuttle Program, ensuring high performance and reliability to power NASA’s next generation lunar missions. Each engine also has a special identification number, and NASA keeps a history of which engines are used on each mission. The second engine, Engine 2045, has flown on several shuttle missions, including the mission that returned NASA astronaut John Glenn to space in 1998 as well as the first and only shuttle launch to occur on Independence Day in 2006. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Employees wear personal protective gear at Michoud Assembly Facility as the facility transitioned to Stage 3 of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Employees wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or cloth face coverings as required for assigned tasks. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Mission-critical tasks include slowly and methodically resuming Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion production activities, particularly critical path deliverables to support the Artemis Program, at a pace that limits personnel and follows federal guidelines for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment such as face masks. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives live television interviews prior to giving remarks for an Artemis day program, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the engine section for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to another part of the facility on Sept. 3 to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket’s core stage. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. Michoud crews completed assembly on the flight hardware that will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on Aug. 29. NASA and Boeing engineers removed the scaffolding surrounding the hardware to use a special tool to properly position the engine section for its attachment to the rest of the stage. The core stage’s two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send the SLS rocket and Orion on the Artemis lunar missions. The engine section houses the four RS-25 engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel form the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Teams move a liquid oxygen tank – designated for the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis III mission – from the thermal protection system application cell at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the site’s 210-foot-tall Vertical Assembly Building on July 9. Next, NASA’s SLS prime contractor, Boeing, will vertically install the tank’s aft sump subassembly. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

NASA is preparing major pieces of the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage to be joined as part of assembling the core stage for the Artemis II mission that will send crews to lunar orbit. Crews will soon connect the forward assembly with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank in the final assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. When this process is completed, four of the five large structures that make up the core stage will be joined. The 66-foot forward assembly consists of the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and the intertank, which were mated earlier. This forward assembly will be joined with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank, the largest part of the stage that holds more than 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant. To compete the Artemis II core stage, engineers will add the engine section, which is currently being outfitted and includes the main propulsion systems that connect to the four RS-25 engines, Together, with the SLS twin solid rocket boosters, the core stage will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. The SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft form the foundation for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. For more on the core stage: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/infographics/corestage101.html Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the core stage that will help launch the first crewed flight of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission. Teams at Michoud lifted the core stage on Thursday, July 11, 2024, onto NASA’s Multi-Purpose Transportation System, designed to transport SLS vehicle segments by waterway and roadway. It is tasked with transporting the vehicle from where it is manufactured to its intermediate test location and final launch destination. The core stage was lifted in preparation for its move onto the agency’s Pegasus barge, where it will be ferried to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pegasus is maintained at Michoud. The core stage for the SLS mega rocket is the largest stage NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, the stage consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines at its base. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send a crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft onward to the Moon. All the major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation space, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This image shows technicians and engineers beginning the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rocket’s core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jody Singer, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Deputy Program manager, Space Launch System Program, Chris Cianciola, Boeing Director of operations at Michoud Assembly Facility Jennifer Boland-Masterson, U.S. Representative Randy Weber (R-TX), and Dayne Cutrell, Chief of Staff for Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, background, view the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will help power the first Artemis mission to the Moon, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans guide the Inter-Stage Simulator (ISS) to the Michoud deep water port on Monday, Sept. 19 in preparation for transportation by barge to the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Once it arrives at Stennis, the simulator will be lifted into the B2 Test Stand, where it holds the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) in place and acts as a thrust takeout. ISS protects the lower portion of the EUS from environmental elements during its Green Run tests. The term “green” refers to the new hardware, and “run” refers to operation all the components together for the first time. During tanking and launch for its future mission, the lower portion is shrouded in a flight interstage. EUS is part of the SLS Block 1B configuration. The more powerful configuration of the SLS rocket will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and 40% more cargo mass on a precise trajectory to the Moon. Through the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon to pave the way for a sustainable presence on the Moon and future missions beyond.

These photos show how teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans manufactured the Y-ring that will be used on the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It is one of the first components that will make up a portion of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis V mission. The large metal ring will serve as the aft ring for the rocket’s liquid hydrogen tank. The SLS core stage is the backbone of the SLS rocket, stretching 212 feet from top to bottom, and includes four RS-25 engines at its base. At launch, its two huge liquid propellant tanks provide more than 733,000 gallons of fuel to produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust. Michoud Assembly Facility and the SLS Program are managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visited the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2021 for tours and briefings on Michoud’s role in the Artemis program and other capabilities that enrich many facets of the nation’s space exploration endeavors. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans rotated the engine section for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from a vertical to horizontal position to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket’s core stage on Sept. 13. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. Michoud crews completed assembly on the flight hardware that will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on Aug. 29. The core stage’s two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send the SLS rocket and Orion on the Artemis lunar missions. The engine section houses the four RS-25 engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel form the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility prime and move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III in preparation for its next step in production. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis III mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

A lunar eclipse is visible over southern Louisiana. The lunar eclipse was visible throughout much of North and South America and part of Europe and Africa between Aug. 27-28. The Full Moon slipped through Earth’s shadow on Aug. 27, continuing into Aug. 28 for some parts of the world, resulting in the lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, the Moon takes on a dramatic dark, ruddy or coppery tint along the covered edge. New Orleans is home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where stages for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and structures for Orion spacecraft are produced for the Artemis missions.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover views the core stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power Artemis II at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans July 15. Glover will pilot Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Crews moved the 212-foot-tall core stage with its four RS-25 engines to Building 110 at NASA Michoud prior to rolling it out to NASA’s Pegasus barge July 16 for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The core stage has two giant propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super cold liquid propellant to feed the stage’s four RS-25 engines. Together, the engines produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to venture around the Moon for Artemis II. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

These photos and videos show teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans preparing, moving, and loading the engine section of a future SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to NASA’s Pegasus barge Aug. 28. The hardware will form the bottom-most section of the SLS core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which will be the first mission to the Gateway space station in lunar orbit under the Artemis campaign. The barge will transport the spaceflight hardware to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida via the agency’s Pegasus barge. Once in Florida, the engine section will undergo final outfitting inside Kennedy’s Space Station Processing Facility.

Technicians transported the assembled upper part of the Artemis II core stage to the final assembly area inside the factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. On Jan 10, the forward assembly, left was moved next to the Artemis II liquid hydrogen tank, which has been undergoing assembly. Next, Boeing, the lead core stage contractor, will join the forward assembly and the liquid hydrogen tank to complete most of the core stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the first crew on an Artemis mission. The core stage consists of five major structures that are built, outfitted, and then connected to form the final stage. The forward skirt, liquid oxygen and intertank were connected and tested to form the 66-foot forward assembly. After the forward assembly is joined with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank, only the engine section, the fifth piece of the stage, will need to be added to complete the Artemis II core stage. The core stage serves as the backbone of the rocket, supporting the weight of the payload, upper stage, and crew vehicle, as well as the thrust of its four RS-25 engines and two five-segment solid rocket boosters attached to the engine and intertank sections. On Artemis II, the SLS rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and a crew, sending them into lunar orbit, in preparation for later Artemis missions that will enable the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, lift the forward-joined flight hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a stacking cell in the vertical assembly building on Dec. 19, 2025. The forward join, which consists of the intertank, liquid oxygen tank, and forward skirt, will be used on the core stage slated for NASA’s Artemis III mission. Teams moved the flight hardware from the cell and set it atop self-propelled mobile transporters. Soon, the article will be brought to the factory’s final assembly area where it will be mated to the core stage’s previously joined liquid hydrogen tank and undergo further integration. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Employees wear personal protective gear at Michoud Assembly Facility as the facility transitioned to Stage 3 of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Employees wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or cloth face coverings as required for assigned tasks. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Mission-critical tasks include slowly and methodically resuming Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion production activities, particularly critical path deliverables to support the Artemis Program, at a pace that limits personnel and follows federal guidelines for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment such as face masks. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans flipped the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II from a vertical to a horizontal position Feb. 11. The flip, also known as a breakover, is in preparation for the final assembly and integration into the core stage for the second SLS rocket. The engine section is the bottom-most portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage and is one of the most complex and intricate portions of the rocket that will help power the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. It is the last of five elements that is needed to join the stage as one structure. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and flight. Next, teams will move the engine section into the final assembly area where they will complete the join. After the join is complete, teams will begin to add each of the four RS-25 engines. The completely assembled stage with its four RS-25 engines will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this year. The SLS rocket is the only rocket capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives remarks on the agency’s Artemis program, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the intertank of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III to Cell G to await application of the thermal protection system. Thermal protection systems protect space vehicles from aerodynamic heating during entry to planet atmosphere and re-entry to earth atmosphere. The intertank lays between the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. Together with the engine section and the forward skirt, they comprise the SLS core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to power the stage’s four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff and Artemis missions to the Moon and future missions to Mars.

This imagery shows how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility moved the aft dome of the liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the next phase of production inside the Vertical Assembly center Dec. 18. The dome will form part of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission. Engineers rotate the dome to attach it to the previously joined forward dome and aft barrel segments using friction-stir welding. The liquid oxygen tank is one of five major components that make up the SLS rocket’s core stage. Together with the forward skirt, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, engine section, along with the four RS-25 engines at its base, the 212-foot core stage will help power NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

These images and videos show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans examining and lifting midbody barrels for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) structural test article of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in May 2023. The barrel sections make up the body, or main structure, of the future in-space propulsion stage for the mega rocket. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. Beginning with Artemis IV, EUS will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage for the Block 1 configuration of SLS. It has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines, enabling SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with crew. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. Crews with NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are also manufacturing the EUS structural test article. The test hardware is structurally identical to the flight version and will be used during a series of strenuous testing that simulates the forces the rocket will experience during launch and flight and verify its structural integrity. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

The liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for the Artemis III mission is lifted into a production cell at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 7. Move crews use an overhead crane system to lift the tank from the mobile transporter, which carried it from another area of the factory and set it atop the previously loaded intertank. Once the liquid oxygen tank is mated to the intertank, team will mate the stage’s forward skirt atop the tank to complete the forward join. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives remarks on the agency’s Artemis program, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, in front of the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Teams at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans load the engine section barrel into the vertical assembly center on Aug. 5, 2026. The engine section will be used on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the agency’s Artemis V mission. On the vertical assembly center tooling, teams will mate the flight hardware to a ring, which will serve as an attachment point for the liquid hydrogen tank later in the production process. The engine section is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage; and houses various avionic systems, the engine thrust structure, and four RS-25 engines. The core stage produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III in preparation for its next step in production. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis III mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Teams with Boeing – NASA’s Prime Contractor for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket – mate the forward and aft ends of the core stage for the agency’s Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2026. This operation secures four of the five major components of the core stage in place: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tanks. The final component – the engine section – was structurally completed in 2022 and shipped to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and integration. Now joined, teams will continue integrating critical systems and perform various checks and tests to ensure the hardware is ready for shipment to Kennedy later this year. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the human landing system, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover views the core stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power Artemis II at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans July 15. Glover will pilot Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Crews moved the 212-foot-tall core stage with its four RS-25 engines to Building 110 at NASA Michoud prior to rolling it out to NASA’s Pegasus barge July 16 for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The core stage has two giant propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super cold liquid propellant to feed the stage’s four RS-25 engines. Together, the engines produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to venture around the Moon for Artemis II. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift a liquid oxygen tank from a horizontal to a vertical position and place it into a production cell on July 12. The process, called a breakover, will allow technicians to rappel into the empty tank and install its aft sump subassembly, securing it from the inside. This tank will be used on the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis III mission. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

The core stage liquid hydrogen tank for the Artemis III mission completed proof testing, and technicians returned it to the main factory building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where it will undergo more outfitting. As part of proof testing, technicians apply a simple soap solution and check for leaks by observing any bubble formation on the welds. The technician removed the bubble solution with distilled water and then dried the area of application to prevent corrosion. To build the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s 130-foot core stage liquid hydrogen tank, engineers use robotic tools to weld five-barrel segments. This process results in a tank with around 1,900 feet, or more than six football fields, of welds that must be tested by hand. After the leak tests, the core stage lead, Boeing, pressurized the SLS tank to further ensure there were no leaks. After it passed proof testing, technicians moved the Artemis III liquid hydrogen tank to Michoud’s main factory. Soon, the technicians will prime and apply a foam-based thermal protection system that protects the tank during launch. Later, the tank will be joined with other parts of the core stage to form the entire 212-foot rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines that produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch the rocket. Artemis III will land the first astronauts on the lunar surface.

These images and videos show team members at Michoud Assembly Facility loading the first core stage that will help launch the first crewed flight of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission onto the Pegasus barge on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. The barge will ferry the core stage on a 900-mile journey from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to its Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The core stage for the SLS mega rocket is the largest stage NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, the stage consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines at its base. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send a crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft onward to the Moon. All the major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation space, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Employees wear personal protective gear at Michoud Assembly Facility as the facility transitioned to Stage 3 of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Employees wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or cloth face coverings as required for assigned tasks. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Mission-critical tasks include slowly and methodically resuming Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion production activities, particularly critical path deliverables to support the Artemis Program, at a pace that limits personnel and follows federal guidelines for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment such as face masks. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans rotated the engine section for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from a vertical to horizontal position to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket’s core stage on Sept. 13. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. Michoud crews completed assembly on the flight hardware that will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on Aug. 29. The core stage’s two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send the SLS rocket and Orion on the Artemis lunar missions. The engine section houses the four RS-25 engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel form the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid oxygen tank for its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from the vertical assembly building into a nearby cell on Dec. 23. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission, will be primed using an automated process in preparation for application of its thermal protection system. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This image shows NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move crew lifting a completed liquid hydrogen tank barrel off the Vertical Weld Center on Feb. 10. The barrel, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, is one of the first pieces of flight hardware manufactured for the agency’s Artemis V mission. The 22-foot-tall barrel section is one of five barrels, which – along with two end domes – make up the 130.8-foot-tall liquid hydrogen fuel tank. The SLS core stage liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of super-cooled propellant and is one of five unique elements that make up the SLS core stage. Together with the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and engine section, the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon.

Employees at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans gather to watch the completion of NASA’s Artemis I mission with the splashdown of the Orion spacecraft on Dec. 11. The team cheered as the capsule safely returned to Earth following its 25.5-day mission, which brought it further into deep space than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown before. The Orion crew capsule as well as parts for the launch abort system and the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket were built at the Michoud Assembly Facility. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon. With the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians from Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin have welded together three cone-shaped panels on Orion’s crew module for the Artemis III mission that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space, and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. Infographic showing the seven pieces of Orion's underlying structure With welding complete on the crew module cone panels – one of which contains windows providing astronauts views of the Moon and Earth – work will begin joining the forward bulkhead to the tunnel to create the top of the spacecraft, followed by the barrel and aft bulkhead join to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The liquid hydrogen tank that will be part of the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage is being prepared for the Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Eventually, the tank will be connected to the engine section that will house the four RS-25 engines. Once the aft simulator is attached, the LH2 tank undergoes non-destructive evaluation, which will test weld strength and ensure the tank is structurally sound. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 432 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch the Artemis III mission to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon.

The liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for the Artemis III mission is lifted into a production cell at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 7. Move crews use an overhead crane system to lift the tank from the mobile transporter, which carried it from another area of the factory and set it atop the previously loaded intertank. Once the liquid oxygen tank is mated to the intertank, team will mate the stage’s forward skirt atop the tank to complete the forward join. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

This imagery shows how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility moved the aft dome of the liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the next phase of production inside the Vertical Assembly center Dec. 18. The dome will form part of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission. Engineers rotate the dome to attach it to the previously joined forward dome and aft barrel segments using friction-stir welding. The liquid oxygen tank is one of five major components that make up the SLS rocket’s core stage. Together with the forward skirt, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, engine section, along with the four RS-25 engines at its base, the 212-foot core stage will help power NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

Employees wear personal protective gear at Michoud Assembly Facility as the facility transitioned to Stage 3 of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Employees wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or cloth face coverings as required for assigned tasks. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Mission-critical tasks include slowly and methodically resuming Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion production activities, particularly critical path deliverables to support the Artemis Program, at a pace that limits personnel and follows federal guidelines for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment such as face masks. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

James Randolph, Mechanical Engineering, Boeing, Portrait, Friday, June 28, 2019 at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, LA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the human landing system, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians from Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin have welded together three cone-shaped panels on Orion’s crew module for the Artemis III mission that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space, and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. Infographic showing the seven pieces of Orion's underlying structure With welding complete on the crew module cone panels – one of which contains windows providing astronauts views of the Moon and Earth – work will begin joining the forward bulkhead to the tunnel to create the top of the spacecraft, followed by the barrel and aft bulkhead join to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the core stage that will help launch the first crewed flight of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission. Teams at Michoud lifted the core stage on Thursday, July 11, 2024, onto NASA’s Multi-Purpose Transportation System, designed to transport SLS vehicle segments by waterway and roadway. It is tasked with transporting the vehicle from where it is manufactured to its intermediate test location and final launch destination. The core stage was lifted in preparation for its move onto the agency’s Pegasus barge, where it will be ferried to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pegasus is maintained at Michoud. The core stage for the SLS mega rocket is the largest stage NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, the stage consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines at its base. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send a crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft onward to the Moon. All the major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation space, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the human landing system, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket can send astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visited the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2021 for tours and briefings on Michoud’s role in the Artemis program and other capabilities that enrich many facets of the nation’s space exploration endeavors. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift a liquid oxygen tank from a horizontal to a vertical position and place it into a production cell on July 12. The process, called a breakover, will allow technicians to rappel into the empty tank and install its aft sump subassembly, securing it from the inside. This tank will be used on the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis III mission. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Teams with Boeing – NASA’s Prime Contractor for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket – mate the forward and aft ends of the core stage for the agency’s Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2026. This operation secures four of the five major components of the core stage in place: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tanks. The final component – the engine section – was structurally completed in 2022 and shipped to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and integration. Now joined, teams will continue integrating critical systems and perform various checks and tests to ensure the hardware is ready for shipment to Kennedy later this year. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for the Artemis III mission is lifted into a production cell at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 7. Move crews use an overhead crane system to lift the tank from the mobile transporter, which carried it from another area of the factory and set it atop the previously loaded intertank. Once the liquid oxygen tank is mated to the intertank, team will mate the stage’s forward skirt atop the tank to complete the forward join. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

A lunar eclipse is visible over southern Louisiana. The lunar eclipse was visible throughout much of North and South America and part of Europe and Africa between Aug. 27-28. The Full Moon slipped through Earth’s shadow on Aug. 27, continuing into Aug. 28 for some parts of the world, resulting in the lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, the Moon takes on a dramatic dark, ruddy or coppery tint along the covered edge. New Orleans is home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where stages for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and structures for Orion spacecraft are produced for the Artemis missions.

This photo shows NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, preparing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for shipment at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. On July 6, NASA and Boeing moved the Artemis II rocket stage to Building 110. The move comes as teams prepare to roll the massive rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines to the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in mid-July. Prior to the move, technicians began removing external access stands, or scaffolding, surrounding the core stage to assess the interior elements, including its complex avionics and flight propulsion systems. The stage is fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

This imagery shows how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the structurally complete liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) after it was finished with welding Jan. 8. The tank will form part of the core stage for the SLS rocket that power NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon. The liquid oxygen tank is undergoing dimensional checks and partial baffle installation in Cell D. The liquid oxygen tank is one of five major components that make up the SLS rocket’s core stage. Together with the forward skirt, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, engine section, along with the four RS-25 engines at its base, the 212-foot core stage will help power NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

Technician’s at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepared the newly-welded Artemis III mission Orion pressure vessel for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s in Florida, where it later arrived on October 15 at Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. The pressure vessel, which was joined together using state-of-the-art welding by technicians from lead contractor Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is a critical element for crew as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in while in the vacuum of deep space. Once transported to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. Photographed on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III to the VAB on November 7, 2022. This hardware makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage; and when complete, it will house the four RS-25 engines as well as vital systems for mounting, controlling, and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Humane Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams with Boeing – NASA’s Prime Contractor for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket – mate the forward and aft ends of the core stage for the agency’s Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2026. This operation secures four of the five major components of the core stage in place: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tank. The final component – the engine section – was structurally completed in 2022 and shipped to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and integration. Now joined, teams will continue integrating critical systems and perform various checks and tests to ensure the hardware is ready for shipment to Kennedy later this year. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians from Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin have welded together three cone-shaped panels on Orion’s crew module for the Artemis III mission that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space, and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. Infographic showing the seven pieces of Orion's underlying structure With welding complete on the crew module cone panels – one of which contains windows providing astronauts views of the Moon and Earth – work will begin joining the forward bulkhead to the tunnel to create the top of the spacecraft, followed by the barrel and aft bulkhead join to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams with NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have fully integrated all five major structures of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage for Artemis II, the first Artemis mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and return them home. Technicians joined the engine section to the rest of the rocket stage March 17. Next, teams will integrate the four RS-25 engines to the engine section to complete the stage. Located at the bottom of the 212-foot-tall core stage, the engine section is the most complex and intricate part of the rocket stage, helping to power Artemis missions to the Moon. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. It houses the engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling, and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the engines. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Robert Champion - Director NASA Michoud Assembly Facility stands in front of the Robotic Weld tool in BLDG 103.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans continue to make progress manufacturing core stages for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. In August, teams with NASA and Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, completed the first ring for the sixth SLS core stage. The core stage rings are welded together through a friction-stir welding process. A completed ring is 27.6 feet in diameter and serves as a connection point to join the large core stage structures together. The rings also provide structural stability to the bottoms of the domes. The 212-foot-tall SLS rocket core stage is made up of 10 major barrel sections, four dome sections, and seven rings. The components come together to form the five major sections of the core stage – the engine section, liquid hydrogen tank, intertank, liquid oxygen tank, and forward skirt. 

Teams at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans load the 25-foot-long engine section barrel into the vertical assembly center on Aug. 5, 2026. The engine section will be used on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the agency’s Artemis V mission. On the vertical assembly center tooling, teams will mate the flight hardware to a ring, which will serve as an attachment point for the liquid hydrogen tank later in the production process. The engine section is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall SLS rocket stage; and houses various avionic systems, the engine thrust structure, and four RS-25 engines. The core stage produces more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III in preparation for its next step in production. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis III mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans perform “breakover” operations on a liquid oxygen tank in the facility’s vertical assembly building on Aug. 22, 2025. During the breakover, teams lifted the tank from its vertical configuration inside of a production cell and set it horizontally atop self-propelled mobile transporters for transfer to the final assembly production area. There, it will undergo integration of the forward dome by SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing. Eventually, the liquid oxygen tank will be moved back to the high bay where it will be mated with the intertank and forward skirt to complete the forward join of the Artemis III core stage. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

These images and videos show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans examining and lifting midbody barrels for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) structural test article of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in May 2023. The barrel sections make up the body, or main structure, of the future in-space propulsion stage for the mega rocket. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. Beginning with Artemis IV, EUS will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage for the Block 1 configuration of SLS. It has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines, enabling SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with crew. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. Crews with NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are also manufacturing the EUS structural test article. The test hardware is structurally identical to the flight version and will be used during a series of strenuous testing that simulates the forces the rocket will experience during launch and flight and verify its structural integrity. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

This imagery shows how technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility moved the aft dome of the liquid oxygen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the next phase of production inside the Vertical Assembly center Dec. 5. The dome will form part of the core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission. Engineers will soon rotate the dome to attach it to the previously joined forward dome and aft barrel segments using friction-stir welding. The liquid oxygen tank is one of five major components that make up the SLS rocket’s core stage. Together with the forward skirt, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, engine section, along with the four RS-25 engines at its base, the 212-foot core stage will help power NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams completed the welding of the Artemis III core stage liquid oxygen tank dome at the NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Crews moved the dome, which is the top of the tank. The dome was moved to an assembly area where it will be loaded into a robotic welder that will join it with the forward barrel to create half of the liquid oxygen tank. Later another barrel and dome will be added to complete the entire tank. The Space Launch System (SLS) core stage liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid propellant that serves as one of the propellants for the four RS-25 engines. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid oxygen and the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) team fully stacked three hardware elements together May 24 to form the top of the rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II mission. NASA and core stage prime contractor Boeing connected the forward skirt with the liquid oxygen tank and intertank flight hardware inside an assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Teams had previously stacked the liquid oxygen tank and intertank on April 28. The joining of the three structures together is the first major assembly of core stage hardware for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission and second flight of the SLS rocket. Next, technicians will work to complete outfitting and integrating the systems within the upper structure. At 66 feet tall, the upper part of the stage is just a fraction of the entire core stage. The fully-assembled, 212-foot-tall rocket stage consists of five hardware elements, including two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines. The liquid oxygen tank in the upper portion of the stage will hold 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, the forward skirt and intertank house avionics, flight computer, and electronic systems for the rocket stage. Together, the core stage and its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send Artemis II astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit to lunar orbit. With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable exploration in preparation for missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

A total lunar eclipse rises over New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and Moon, casting a huge shadow across the Moon’s surface. The Moon appears dark red or orange as the Sun’s light filters through Earth’s atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans guide the Inter-Stage Simulator (ISS) to the Michoud deep water port on Monday, Sept. 19 in preparation for transportation by barge to the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Crews will lift the simulator into the B2 Test Stand at Stennis, where it holds the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) in place and acts as a thrust takeout. ISS protects the lower portion of the EUS from environmental elements during its Green Run tests. The term “green” refers to the new hardware, and “run” refers to operation all the components together for the first time. During tanking and launch for its future mission, the lower portion is shrouded in a flight interstage. EUS is part of the SLS Block 1B configuration. The more powerful configuration of the SLS rocket will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and 40% more cargo mass on a precise trajectory to the Moon. Through the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon to pave the way for a sustainable presence on the Moon and future missions beyond.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold, Portrait, Friday, June 28, 2019 at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, LA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Technicians and engineers move the boat-tail structure for the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System’s (SLS) rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The boat-tail, a fairing-like cover that attaches to the engine section on the bottom of the core stage, protects and covers most of the four RS-25 engines’ critical systems. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Photographed on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the engine section flight hardware to the agency’s Pegasus barge Sunday, Dec. 4. The barge will ferry the engine section of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis III to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once there, teams at Kennedy will finish outfitting the engine section, which comprises the tail-end of the rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage, before integrating it to the rest of the stage. Beginning with production for Artemis III, NASA and core stage lead contractor Boeing will use Michoud, where the SLS core stages are currently manufactured, to produce and outfit the core stage’s five elements, and available space at Kennedy for final assembly and integration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jared Lyons)

NASA joined the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage forward assembly with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank for the Artemis II mission on March 18. This completes assembly of four of the five large structures that make up the core stage that will help send the first astronauts to lunar orbit on Artemis II. The 66-foot forward assembly consists of the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and the intertank, which were mated earlier. Engineers inserted 360 bolts to connect the forward assembly to the liquid hydrogen tank to make up the bulk of the stage. Only the engine section, which is currently being outfitted and includes the main propulsion systems that connect to the four RS-25 engines, remains to be added to form the final core stage. All parts of the core stage are manufactured by NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Currently, the team is building core stages for three Artemis missions. The first core stage is stacked with the rest of the SLS rocket, which will launch the Artemis I mission to the Moon this year. Together with its twin solid rocket boosters, the core stage will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. The SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft form the foundation for Artemis missions and future deep space exploration. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

This image shows technicians and engineers moving the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) into position as they continue the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rocket’s core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians from Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin have welded together three cone-shaped panels on Orion’s crew module for the Artemis III mission that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon. The crew module’s primary structure, the pressure vessel, is comprised of seven machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together through a weld process that produces a strong, air-tight habitable space for astronauts during the mission. The pressure vessel is designed to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space, and is the core structure upon which all the other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. Infographic showing the seven pieces of Orion's underlying structure With welding complete on the crew module cone panels – one of which contains windows providing astronauts views of the Moon and Earth – work will begin joining the forward bulkhead to the tunnel to create the top of the spacecraft, followed by the barrel and aft bulkhead join to form the bottom of Orion. Last, the forward bulkhead will be welded to the top of the panels and, for the seventh and closeout weld, the bottom of the cone panels will be joined to the barrel to complete the pressure vessel. Once welding of the Artemis III crew module primary structure is complete, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will undergo further assembly beginning this fall. Orion, the Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems programs are foundational elements of the Artemis program. Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of Orion and SLS and is targeted to launch later this year. Artemis II will follow and is the first crewed mission, taking humans farther into space than ever before. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians transported the assembled upper part of the Artemis II core stage to the final assembly area inside the factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. On Jan 10, the forward assembly, left was moved next to the Artemis II liquid hydrogen tank, which has been undergoing assembly. Next, Boeing, the lead core stage contractor, will join the forward assembly and the liquid hydrogen tank to complete most of the core stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the first crew on an Artemis mission. The core stage consists of five major structures that are built, outfitted, and then connected to form the final stage. The forward skirt, liquid oxygen and intertank were connected and tested to form the 66-foot forward assembly. After the forward assembly is joined with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank, only the engine section, the fifth piece of the stage, will need to be added to complete the Artemis II core stage. The core stage serves as the backbone of the rocket, supporting the weight of the payload, upper stage, and crew vehicle, as well as the thrust of its four RS-25 engines and two five-segment solid rocket boosters attached to the engine and intertank sections. On Artemis II, the SLS rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and a crew, sending them into lunar orbit, in preparation for later Artemis missions that will enable the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon.

Teams with Boeing – NASA’s Prime Contractor for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket – mate the forward and aft ends of the core stage for the agency’s Artemis III mission at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2026. This operation secures four of the five major components of the core stage in place: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tanks. The final component – the engine section – was structurally completed in 2022 and shipped to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and integration. Now joined, teams will continue integrating critical systems and perform various checks and tests to ensure the hardware is ready for shipment to Kennedy later this year. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans rotated the engine section for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from a vertical to horizontal position to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket’s core stage on Sept. 13. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. Michoud crews completed assembly on the flight hardware that will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on Aug. 29. The core stage’s two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send the SLS rocket and Orion on the Artemis lunar missions. The engine section houses the four RS-25 engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel form the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jody Singer gives opening remarks during an Artemis day event, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Robert Champion - Director NASA Michoud Assembly Facility stands in front of the Robotic Weld tool in BLDG 103.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans perform “breakover” operations on a liquid oxygen tank in the facility’s vertical assembly building on Aug. 22, 2025. During the breakover, teams lifted the tank from its vertical configuration inside of a production cell and set it horizontally atop self-propelled mobile transporters for transfer to the final assembly production area. There, it will undergo integration of the forward dome by SLS (Space Launch System) prime contractor, Boeing. Eventually, the liquid oxygen tank will be moved back to the high bay where it will be mated with the intertank and forward skirt to complete the forward join of the Artemis III core stage. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility have joined the engine and boat-tail sections of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II in preparation for its next step in production. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. The boat-tail is designed to protect the bottom end of the core stage and the RS-25 engines and was joined with the engine section to comprise the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Employees wear personal protective gear at Michoud Assembly Facility as the facility transitioned to Stage 3 of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Employees wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or cloth face coverings as required for assigned tasks. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Mission-critical tasks include slowly and methodically resuming Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion production activities, particularly critical path deliverables to support the Artemis Program, at a pace that limits personnel and follows federal guidelines for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment such as face masks. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid oxygen tank for its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from the vertical assembly building into a nearby cell on Dec. 23. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of the agency’s Artemis III mission, will be primed using an automated process in preparation for application of its thermal protection system. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.

On Thursday, February 10, 2022, move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility lift the core stage 3 liquid oxygen tank (LOX) aft barrel out of the vertical friction stir weld tool to be moved for its next phase of production. Eventually, the aft barrel will be mated with the forward barrel and forward and aft domes to create the LOX tank, which will be used for the Space Launch System’s Artemis III mission. The LOX tank holds 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid oxygen to help fuel four RS-25 engines. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid oxygen hardware, along with the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the forward skirt of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to another part of the facility Dec. 15. Teams are preparing to apply the thermal protection system to the flight hardware, which will protect it from the extreme temperatures during launch and flight. The forward skirt is part of the core stage that will power the SLS rocket for the Artemis III mission. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics.. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. When fully stacked, the forward skirt is located at the top of the core stage and connects the stage to the upper part of the rocket. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.