Artemis Photography | Chad Davis Photography

Looking down from the top of the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

Nasa Rocket Factory

In 2018, I was given the rare opportunity by NASA take photos inside their Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. NASA MAF is home to the assembly of the Space Launch System rocket being built to send the Orion Spacecraft into space. The Artemis 1 mission was successfully completed on December 11th, 2022 after being launched 25 days earlier on November 16th. Artemis II is scheduled to be the firest manned mission that will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby for 21 days. The current launch date is November 2024.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, New Orleans, SLS, Space Launch System

Verticle Assembly Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

Looking down from the top of the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center

NASA’s welding tool, the worlds largest

NASA’s welding tool, one of the world’s largest. The massive tool was designed and built to weld together the domes, rings, and barrels that make up the core stage pieces of the Space Launch System (SLS). The size of this thing can’t be described or shown in a photo.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center, Welder

Welding tool inside NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

A welding tool inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility where the Space Launch System(SLS) is being built.

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Welding

Wall of Missions at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

The “Wall of Missions” at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

Vertical Weld Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

The Vertical Weld Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility is a friction-stir-weld tool for wet and dry structures on the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. It will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the intertank, the forward skirt and the aft engine section.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Welding

NASA Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) , Michoud Assembly Facility

Inside the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center

Vertical Assembly Center stairs

Stairway inside the vertical assembly center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility where the Artemis spacecraft is being built.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Staircase, Vertical Assembly Center

NASA Michoud Assembly Facilty Vertical Assembly center

Indide the Verticle Assembly Center (VAC) at NASA Michoud where Space Launch System rocket and Artemis is being built.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center

SLS Forward Skirt at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

The Forward Skirt is part of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Housing flight computers, cameras and avionics it is pretty much the brain of the rocket. This photo was taken a couple weeks after it’s final assembly was completed at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.

Artemis, Forward Skirt, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

On NASA’s Pegasus Barge

Nasa’s Pegasus barge that will carry fuel tanks for the Space Launch System to other NASA facilities for testing and launches.

More Info:
NASA Infographic: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/barge-pegasus-infographic
Pegasus Barge Fact Sheet: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sls_pegasus_fact_sheet_508_final_04212017.pdf

Artemis, Barge, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, Pegasus, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

Outside the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

The NASA logo on the side of Michoud Assembly Facility where the Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis is being built.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

NASA Vertical Assembly Center, Michoud

The large Space Launch System print on the wall was placed there to show what is being built in this room.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center

Space Robots at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

Manufacturing robots at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.

Space Launch System: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/

Artemis, Manufacturing, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, Robots, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

NASA Michoud Assembly Facility Space Tool

Looking down from the top of NASA’s 170ft space tool that will weld together barrels, domes and tanks for the Space Launch System (SLS) at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Vertical Assembly Center

Liquid Oxygen Tank at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

A Liquid Oxygen tank being worked on inside Cell A at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. It’s part of the Space Launch System Core Stage. The tank will hold 195,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to -297 degrees Fahrenheit.

Artemis, Liquid Oxygen Tank, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System

Inside the Vertical Weld Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facilit

Inside the Vertical Weld Center. The friction-stir-weld tool for wet and dry structures on the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. It will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the intertank, the forward skirt and the aft engine section.

More Info: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/

Artemis, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System, Welding

NASA SA Cone Spacecraft Adapter Cone

Space hardware that will launch with Artemis I on Monday August 29th, 2022. The mission is the first planned launch of the Artemis space program that hopes to bring people back to the moon.

As of March 2024 the launch date is planned for September 2024. It’ll be the first crewed mission of the Orion Spacecraft and will do a moon flyby. It’ll be the first crew to travel beyond low orbit earth since 1972.

Adaptor Cone, Artemis, Artemis I, Michoud Assembly Facility, Nasa, SLS, Space, Space Exploration, Space Launch System