America’s Rocket Factory comes Full Circle with Artemis
NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans rolled out the second Space Launch System (SLS) core stage for Artemis II on 16 July 2024, exactly 55 years after the Apollo 11 launch. The 212‑foot‑tall stage left Michoud’s Building 110 transfer aisle and was loaded onto the Pegasus barge for transport to Kennedy Space Center, where it will power the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo. On 8 January 2026, Michoud teams completed the major forward‑aft join on Core Stage‑3, the vehicle slated for Artemis III, securing four of the five primary components before shipment later in 2026.
The 832‑acre Michoud site, acquired by NASA in 1961, provides more than two million square feet of manufacturing space and has produced hardware for three distinct eras of U.S. human spaceflight. In the 1960s Chrysler and Boeing built Saturn IB and Saturn V first stages there, while from 1973 to 2010 Martin Marietta—later Lockheed Martin—fabricated all 136 Space Shuttle external tanks. For the current SLS program Boeing serves as prime contractor for the core stage, and Lockheed Martin manufactures Orion pressure vessels and launch‑abort‑system components on‑site. Early SLS stages were assembled horizontally at Michoud; the workflow now completes the forward skirt, liquid‑oxygen tank, intertank and liquid‑hydrogen tank at Michoud, with final engine integration and mating performed in Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The Pegasus barge, originally modified for Shuttle external tanks, continues to carry SLS stages, while the previously designated Exploration Upper Stage area will be repurposed after NASA cancelled the EUS in favor of United Launch Alliance’s Centaur V upper stage for future Block 1B missions.
Michoud’s continuous adaptation—from Saturn rockets to Shuttle tanks to SLS core stages—anchors NASA’s lunar return strategy, supporting Artemis III’s mid‑2027 crewed low‑Earth‑orbit test flight and subsequent Artemis IV and later missions. The facility’s workforce has maintained production through events such as Hurricane Katrina, a 2017 tornado and media scrutiny after the 2003 Columbia accident, underscoring its resilience. As commercial partners Blue Origin and SpaceX contribute launch services for the Artemis program, Michoud remains a central manufacturing hub for America’s deep‑space ambitions.
