NASA Michoud: Yellow Rocket Assembly Cranes

An elevated platform provides a perspective of the overhead gantry crane system within NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. These massive yellow steel cranes are essential for lifting and maneuvering large rocket sections, including the core stages of the Space Launch System (SLS), within the vast production hall. Michoud has served as a primary manufacturing site for American space programs since the Apollo and Space Shuttle eras, demonstrating its long-standing role in spacecraft production. Today, the facility continues to be critical for the Artemis program, where these industrial cranes facilitate the assembly of components vital for future lunar and deep-space missions. Related photographs from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA’s Space Launch System core stages are assembled for Artemis missions.