A long corridor inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans showcases decades of spaceflight heritage through a display of mission patches and crew insignias. Each emblem represents a milestone in American aerospace history — from early shuttle missions to modern exploration programs. The polished concrete floors and fluorescent lighting emphasize the industrial precision of the facility, while the colorful insignias serve as a vivid reminder of the human stories behind the technology.

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

Looking down into the massive cleaning cell inside the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

The massive washing facility is used to wash the insides of the Space Launch System(SLS) fuel tanks. The SLS rocket will be the world’s largest rocket ever built.

The towering interior of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where major components for the Space Launch System rocket are fabricated and assembled. The multilevel platforms, access walkways, and heavy structural supports surround the massive Vertical Assembly Area—an environment designed for precision alignment of rocket stages that will power Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A bright blue and yellow tooling structure dominates this section of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Built by Ascent Aerospace’s Global Tooling Systems division, this heavy-duty platform is part of the specialized infrastructure used to assemble components of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The steel frame supports massive cylindrical sections during alignment and welding, forming part of the precision manufacturing ecosystem that enables Artemis missions to take shape from the ground up.

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.

Inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, this massive blue structure is the Vertical Weld Center, used to fabricate the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The machine employs friction-stir welding to join aluminum panels into large cylindrical sections that form the rocket’s fuel tanks. Operated by precision robotics, the weld center is one of the tallest of its kind in the world and plays a central role in preparing hardware for Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A high-angle view inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans shows the enormous vertical welding and assembly bays used to build sections of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The towering circular structure on the left is part of the Vertical Weld Center, where cylindrical rocket segments are precisely joined using friction-stir welding. Catwalks and access platforms ring the interior, supporting technicians during construction of the world’s most powerful launch vehicle for the Artemis program.

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.

Looking downward inside the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, this view shows the precision alignment and welding platform used to assemble rocket stages. The towering blue and yellow structure is part of the tooling for the Space Launch System core stage, where massive aluminum sections are friction-stir welded to form part of NASA’s Artemis launch vehicles.

A stairwell winds through the interior of NASA’s Vertical Assembly Center at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The industrial structure, with its orange and blue framework, provides access to various levels of the 170-foot-tall welding system used to assemble core stages of the Space Launch System. The facility supports precision manufacturing for the Artemis program’s heavy-lift rockets.

A view from the upper levels of the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The massive blue structure supports the assembly and welding of the Space Launch System’s core stage, the primary rocket used for Artemis missions. This 170-foot-tall tool precisely aligns and joins large rocket sections, a key part of NASA’s ongoing production of deep space launch vehicles.

The Spacecraft Adapter Cone for NASA’s Orion Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is shown during assembly inside the manufacturing facility. This conical structure connects the Orion crew module and service module to the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, housing critical components such as separation hardware, wiring harnesses, and payload deployment systems. Its reinforced aluminum construction includes visible thermal protection areas, structural attachment brackets, and integrated circuitry for communication and control. EM-1, later renamed Artemis I, was designed as an uncrewed test flight to evaluate Orion’s deep-space capabilities for future crewed lunar missions.

The Orion spacecraft’s crew module sits on a transport platform at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. Built by Lockheed Martin, this pressure vessel is the primary structure that will house astronauts during Artemis missions to the Moon. The aluminum-lithium frame, painted in primer yellow, is designed to withstand both launch forces and the harsh conditions of deep space. Each module undergoes precision assembly and testing at Michoud before being shipped to Kennedy Space Center for outfitting and integration with the Space Launch System rocket.

The Orion crew module is seen in mid-assembly at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Built by Lockheed Martin, the pressure vessel forms the core structure of the spacecraft that will carry astronauts on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The aluminum-lithium frame is precision-welded to withstand the stresses of launch and deep-space travel, while the black sections mark window openings for crew visibility during flight. Each unit is assembled and tested at Michoud before being shipped to the Kennedy Space Center for integration with the European Service Module and the Space Launch System rocket.

The interior of NASA’s Pegasus barge shows its cavernous cargo bay, designed to carry the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket stages from New Orleans to Florida. The reinforced hull and climate-controlled enclosure protect rocket components from Gulf Coast humidity and salt exposure during transit. Originally built in 1999 to move Space Shuttle external tanks, Pegasus was lengthened and upgraded in 2014 to accommodate the larger Artemis-era core stages. The vessel remains a vital part of NASA’s logistics network, connecting Michoud Assembly Facility with Kennedy Space Center via a 900-mile inland and coastal route.

The NASA transport barge Pegasus is shown moored at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. Designed to carry the massive core stages of the Space Launch System (SLS), Pegasus features a climate-controlled cargo hold and a retractable bow door to accommodate the rocket’s 212-foot-long components. Originally used to move Space Shuttle external tanks, the vessel was extensively refitted and lengthened in 2014 to support NASA’s Artemis program. It remains a key link between NASA’s Gulf Coast manufacturing site and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The NASA barge Pegasus moored along the Intracoastal Waterway near New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally built in 1999 to carry Space Shuttle external tanks from Michoud to Kennedy Space Center, the vessel was later extended and modernized to transport the massive core stages of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Operated by the U.S. Maritime Administration and NASA’s logistics teams, Pegasus remains a vital link between Gulf Coast manufacturing and Florida launch operations for Artemis missions.

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

The main assembly hall of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, seen from the west apron. Originally constructed during World War II for manufacturing Liberty ships and later used for Saturn V and Space Shuttle external tank production, the site continues to play a central role in the U.S. space program. Today, Boeing and NASA engineers fabricate and assemble the massive core stages of the Space Launch System (SLS) inside this facility for Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.