Tooling Platform at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

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. Related photographs from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA’s Space Launch System core stages are assembled for Artemis missions.