SLS Tooling Platform at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

This specialized tooling platform, built by Ascent Aerospace’s Global Tooling Systems division, is located within NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. The heavy-duty steel structure is a critical piece of infrastructure designed for the precision assembly of components for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. It supports and aligns massive cylindrical sections of the rocket during welding and other manufacturing processes, ensuring the structural integrity required for spaceflight. This manufacturing ecosystem at Michoud is vital for the production of the SLS core stage and other elements, directly enabling NASA's Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon and eventually journey to Mars. Related photographs from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA’s Space Launch System core stages are assembled for Artemis missions.