Overhead Gantry Cranes at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility

An elevated view of the overhead gantry crane system inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. These yellow steel cranes are used to lift and maneuver rocket sections, including the massive Space Launch System core stages, within the cavernous production hall. The network of platforms, rails, and suspended hooks demonstrates the industrial scale of spacecraft manufacturing that has taken place here since the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Related photographs from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA’s Space Launch System core stages are assembled for Artemis missions.