At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, a robotic friction stir welding cell, developed by Genesis Systems Group and Boeing, constructs components for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. Michoud, a site with a long history of aerospace manufacturing since the 1960s, plays a crucial role in producing large-scale structures for space exploration. This advanced system precisely joins massive aluminum panels using friction stir welding, creating the rocket’s fuel tanks and structural sections. This specialized process ensures the structural integrity and reliability essential for the SLS, which powers NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
Related photographs from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA’s Space Launch System core stages are assembled for Artemis missions. 
