These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The Sept. 11 engine installation follows the joining of all five major structures that make up the SLS core stage earlier this spring. NASA, lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will continue integrating the remaining three engines into the stage and installing the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section. 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The Sept. 11 engine installation follows the joining of all five major structures that make up the SLS core stage earlier this spring. NASA, lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will continue integrating the remaining three engines into the stage and installing the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section. 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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 image shows the forward skirt 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, 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 hardware is located at the top of the 212-foot-tall core stage and connects the upper part of the rocket to the core stage. Soon, technicians will ready the forward skirt for the first of three core stage assembly mates called the forward join. The forward join consists of three main parts -- the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, and intertank – to create the top, or forward part, of the core 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.

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

This image shows the forward skirt 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, 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 hardware is located at the top of the 212-foot-tall core stage and connects the upper part of the rocket to the core stage. Soon, technicians will ready the forward skirt for the first of three core stage assembly mates called the forward join. The forward join consists of three main parts -- the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, and intertank – to create the top, or forward part, of the core 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.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards visited NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and spoke about the state’s partnerships with NASA and the 20 companies and government agencies located at the facility. NASA is building its new deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft at Michoud.

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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 officials were joined by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who toured the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and got a first-hand look at NASA’s new deep space vehicles being built at the facility.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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.

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Moved at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lifting and installing the liquid oxygen dome weld confidence article for a future upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket onto the LTAC (LOX Tank Assembly Center) in Building 115 at Michoud for the next phase of manufacturing in July 2023. The dome makes up a portion of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article for the EUS (exploration upper stage). Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures and structural integrity of the welds to manufacture structural test and flight versions of the hardware. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud. The more powerful upper stage and its four RL10 engines 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. NASA and Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS core stage and EUS, are manufacturing SLS stages for Artemis II, III, IV, and V at the facility. 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.

These images show NASA’s Pegasus barge at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as it transported the Artemis I launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Leaving with the adapter from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Pegasus made a brief stop at Michoud to offload supplies and equipment before continuing its to Kennedy. The LVSA connects the deep space rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage to the rocket’s upper stage and will be used for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Once at Kennedy, the LVSA will undergo Artemis I launch preparations. Only the SLS core stage, currently in final testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remains to be shipped to Kennedy on Pegasus. The core stage is produced at Michoud. Together with 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. Offering more payload mass, volume capacity and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System 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 in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The Sept. 11 engine installation follows the joining of all five major structures that make up the SLS core stage earlier this spring. NASA, lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will continue integrating the remaining three engines into the stage and installing the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s final assembly area on April 22. Having recently completed application of the thermal protection system, teams will now continue outfitting the 130-foot-tall tank with critical systems to ready it for its designated 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.

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.

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.

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

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s liquid oxygen tank structural test article was manufactured and stacked in June 2019 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. To construct the test article, Boeing technicians at Michoud moved the liquid oxygen tank to the Vertical Assemby Building stacking and integration area. Here, they added simulators to mimic the two structures that connect to the tank, the intertank and the forward skirt. This structural hardware for the SLS core stage for America’s new deep space rocket is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank. It will be shipped on the Pegasus barge to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama, where it will undergo a series of tests that simulate the stresses and loads of liftoff and flight. These tests will help ensure designs are adequate for successful SLS missions to the Moon and beyond. The flight liquid oxygen tank along with the liquid hydrogen tank supplies more than 500,000 gallons of propellant to the core stages four RS-25 engines, which produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the SLS rocket to space.

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.

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

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

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)

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s liquid oxygen tank structural test article was manufactured and stacked in June 2019 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. To construct the test article, Boeing technicians at Michoud moved the liquid oxygen tank to the Vertical Assemby Building stacking and integration area. Here, they added simulators to mimic the two structures that connect to the tank, the intertank and the forward skirt. This structural hardware for the SLS core stage for America’s new deep space rocket is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank. It will be shipped on the Pegasus barge to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama, where it will undergo a series of tests that simulate the stresses and loads of liftoff and flight. These tests will help ensure designs are adequate for successful SLS missions to the Moon and beyond. The flight liquid oxygen tank along with the liquid hydrogen tank supplies more than 500,000 gallons of propellant to the core stages four RS-25 engines, which produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the SLS rocket to space.

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

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.

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.

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility move the intertank of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III to Cell G on October 26, 2022 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. 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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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/Eric Bordelon

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)

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.

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

Teams completed welding of the liquid oxygen dome for the core stage of a future SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The dome, which will cap off the forward end of the liquid oxygen tank, was lifted off of the robotic weld tool and moved to an assembly area for the next phase of production. Later, crews will add the forward dome to join the two barrels and the aft dome to complete the liquid oxygen tank. The flight hardware will be used for Artemis IV, the first flight of SLS in its Block 1B configuration. The SLS core stage liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid propellant. 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 tanks 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 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

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 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.

Teams move a liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a priming cell and into an adjacent cell on May 20 at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Inside the cell, the tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Artemis III mission, will receive its thermal protection system. The thermal protection system, or spray-on foam insulation, provides protection to the core stage during launch. It is flexible enough to move with the rocket yet can withstand the aerodynamic pressures as the SLS accelerates from 0 to 17,500 mph and soars to more than 100 miles above the Earth. This third-generation insulation is more environmentally friendly and keeps the cryogenic propellant, which powers the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, extremely cold (the liquid hydrogen must remain at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit/253 degrees Celsius) to remain in its liquid state. When applied the thermal protection system is a light-yellow color, which “tans” once exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color.

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.

This photo includes two employees wearing 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. Every team member who goes on-site brings their own cloth face covering and wears it when social distancing is not possible, such as in a shared vehicle when working inside the large factory. Michoud Assembly Facility is made up of multiple buildings, the largest of which is more than 38 acres under one roof. Wearing a facemask is mandatory for common areas where social distancing is difficult to achieve. 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, left, along with U.S. Representative Randy Weber (R-TX), right, and other NASA and Boeing management 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)

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.

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 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

Aerial shots of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility

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 photo includes two employees wearing personal protective gear in the shipping and receiving area of Michoud Assembly Facility during the Stage 3 transition of NASA’s Framework for Return To On-Site Work. Wearing a facemask is mandatory for common areas where social distancing is difficult to achieve. Access to the facility is limited to authorized personnel working on mission-critical tasks that must be conducted onsite. Employees at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans will slowly and methodically resume Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Orion Spacecraft production and assembly activities 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 lift the aft liquid oxygen tank (LOX) barrel out of the Vertical Weld Center (VWC) for its next phase of production. The aft barrel will eventually be mated with the forward barrel and the forward and aft domes to form the LOX tank, which will be used in the Space Launch System’s (SLS) Artemis IV 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. 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 Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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

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 has completed assembly of the upper, or forward, part of the core stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the Artemis II crew on their lunar mission. Boeing, the lead core stage contractor, completed joining the forward part of the rocket, and then lifted it out of the assembly structure at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. To construct this part of the core stage, the team first stacked three major parts of the stage—the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank, and the intertank. The forward skirt sits atop the rocket’s core stage, and it and the intertank are outfitted with the rocket’s flight computers and avionics systems that control SLS during launch and ascent. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire upper part of the stage is around 66-feet tall. The fully-assembled, 212-foot-tall rocket stage consists of five hardware elements. As the team lifted it out of the assembly area, they completed a breakover maneuver, to put the forward assembly in a horizontal position. Then, they moved it to final assembly where the Artemis II liquid hydrogen tank is also undergoing outfitting. Here, teams will connect the liquid hydrogen tank to the upper part of the rocket and complete assembly of four of the five core stage parts. The last piece to be added will be the engine section, which is currently in a separate assembly area being outfitted with propulsion systems that connect to the engines. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

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

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s liquid oxygen tank structural test article was manufactured and stacked in June 2019 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. To construct the test article, Boeing technicians at Michoud moved the liquid oxygen tank to the Vertical Assemby Building stacking and integration area. Here, they added simulators to mimic the two structures that connect to the tank, the intertank and the forward skirt. This structural hardware for the SLS core stage for America’s new deep space rocket is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank. It will be shipped on the Pegasus barge to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama, where it will undergo a series of tests that simulate the stresses and loads of liftoff and flight. These tests will help ensure designs are adequate for successful SLS missions to the Moon and beyond. The flight liquid oxygen tank along with the liquid hydrogen tank supplies more than 500,000 gallons of propellant to the core stages four RS-25 engines, which produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the SLS rocket to space.

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

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 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

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

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

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by 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 critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at 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. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker