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Lockheed Martin technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, complete the final weld on the pressure vessel of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a radome is being prepared for installation over an S-band antenna designed to provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System rocket. A radome is a weatherproof structural enclosure designed to protect an antenna or radar system and is constructed of material that interferes minimally with the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines voice, television, telemetry, command, tracking and ranging into a single system.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
The 2017 class of astronaut candidates tour the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay during a familiarization tour at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In front, center, is Glenn Chin, deputy manager, Orion Production Operations Office. The candidates toured center facilities, including the Vehicle Assembly Building; Launch Control Center, Launch Pad 39B and the Space Station Processing Facility. They also toured Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility, United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and SpaceX's Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. The candidates will spend about two years getting to know the space station systems and learning how to spacewalk, speak Russian, control the International Space Station's robotic arm and fly T-38s, before they're eligible to be assigned to a mission. NASA/Kim Shiflett
Members of the 2017 class of astronaut candidates are in Firing Room 1 inside the Launch Control Center during a familiarization tour at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The candidates toured center facilities, including the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Pad 39B, the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay and the Space Station Processing Facility. They also toured Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility, United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and SpaceX's Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. The candidates will spend about two years getting to know the space station systems and learning how to spacewalk, speak Russian, control the International Space Station's robotic arm and fly T-38s, before they're eligible to be assigned to a mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
The NASA SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft and European Service module in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Taken a day before rollout to the launchpad this Moon rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission.
In that package is the Orion spacecraft which consists of the NASA’s Crew Module, the Crew Module Adapter and ESA’s European Service Module. Together these modules will power the spacecraft around the Moon and back. Over 30 engines, four solar wings, 8.6 tons of propellant and 11 km of cables are inside. For the first Artemis mission they will work in harmony to travel from Earth to the Moon, make two flybys and return.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
DSC_8663proc
Lockheed Martin technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, complete the final weld on the pressure vessel of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before.
Today was the #StateOfNASA event at NASA centers across America. I was fortunate to get to attend the #NASASocial that covered the presentation and then touring the facility. Great things are going on at Stennis and their future looks bright.
Lockheed Martin technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, complete the final weld on the pressure vessel of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before.
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report: www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-631
SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM: Resources Need to be Matched to Requirements to Decrease Risk and Support Long Term Affordability
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
The 2017 class of astronaut candidates are inside the Vehicle Assembly Building during a familiarization tour of facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The candidates toured center facilities, including the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay; Launch Control Center, Launch Pad 39B, and the Space Station Processing Facility. They also toured Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility, United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and SpaceX's Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. The candidates will spend about two years getting to know the space station systems and learning how to spacewalk, speak Russian, control the International Space Station's robotic arm and fly T-38s, before they're eligible to be assigned to a mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Lockheed Martin technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, complete the final weld on the pressure vessel of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before.
Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, prepare new heat-resistant bricks for installation on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: www.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Lockheed Martin technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, complete the final weld on the pressure vessel of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before.
An engine section structural qualification test article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The test article now will make its way from Michoud to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for structural loads testing. For the test series, hydraulic cylinders will be electronically controlled to push, pull, twist and bend the test article with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the extreme forces of launch and ascent. The engine section, located at the bottom of the rocket's core stage, will house the four RS-25 engines and be an attachment point for the two solid rocket boosters. The engine section test article is the first of four core stage test articles manufactured at Michoud and is designed to the same specifications as the engine section that will fly on the first SLS mission with the Orion spacecraft.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Michoud
#NASAMichoud, #NASAMarshall
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The NASA SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft and European Service module in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Taken a day before rollout to the launchpad this Moon rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission.
In that package is the Orion spacecraft which consists of the NASA’s Crew Module, the Crew Module Adapter and ESA’s European Service Module. Together these modules will power the spacecraft around the Moon and back. Over 30 engines, four solar wings, 8.6 tons of propellant and 11 km of cables are inside. For the first Artemis mission they will work in harmony to travel from Earth to the Moon, make two flybys and return.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
DSC_8699proc
Technicians with Orbital ATK, prime contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS) Booster, prepare the right hand aft skirt for NASA's SLS rocket for primer and painting inside a support building at the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The space shuttle-era aft skirt, was inspected and resurfaced and will be primed and painted for use on the right hand booster of the SLS rocket for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). NASA is preparing for EM-1, deep-space missions, and the Journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus Feb. 22, at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the rocket's massive core stage scheduled for delivery to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. Engineers at Marshall will push, pull and bend the intertank with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The flight version of the intertank will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house the avionics and electronics that will serve as the "brains" of the rocket. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the flight core stage from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launch. (NASA/Michoud/Steven Seipel)
More than 7,000 people attended NASA Marshall Space Center and Downtown Huntsville, Inc.’s third annual celebration of NASA and the community June 18. This year, the event moved to Huntsville’s Big Spring Park, becoming ‘NASA in the Park.’ The celebration featured fun for all ages, live music performed by Marshall team members and a special appearance by NASA astronaut Don Thomas.
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Technicians with Orbital ATK, prime contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS) Booster, prepare a paint mixture for the right hand aft skirt for NASAâs SLS in a support building at the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The space shuttle-era aft skirt, was inspected and resurfaced, and will be primed and painted for use on the right hand booster of the SLS rocket for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). NASA is preparing for EM-1, deep-space missions, and the Journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
A technician with Orbital ATK, prime contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS) Booster, preps a section of the right hand aft skirt for primer and paint in a support building at the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The space shuttle-era aft skirt will be used on the right hand booster of NASA's SLS rocket for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). NASA is preparing for EM-1, deep space missions, and the Journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
From left, Sean McCrary and Katie Mortensen, mechanical engineering technicians, paint NASA’s Artemis logo on the White Room connected to the crew access arm and mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. The White Room is the area where the Artemis II crew Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will enter the Orion spacecraft ahead of launch from Launch Complex 39B at NASA Kennedy in early 2026. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians lift the pedestal for an S-band antenna for mounting on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians secure the pedestal for an S-band antenna in position on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a ceremony is underway marking the agency's Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution (SPIE) organization formally turning over processing of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), to the center's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Directorate. The ICPS is seen on the left in its shipping container and is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1. With the Orion attached, the ICPS sits atop the SLS rocket and will provide the spacecraft with the additional thrust needed to travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.
Photo credit: NASA/ Bill White
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into the transfer aisle inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. In the coming months, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
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NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Boeing and NASA today completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage and avionics, validating the design of the rocket that will send humans beyond low Earth orbit to the moon, an asteroid and ultimately Mars.
In this photo, Boeing weld engineer Tim Livengood confirms the setup on a friction stir weld test fixture at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in support of the SLS.
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This engine section structural test article for NASA's Space Launch System is being prepared to be shipped on the barge Pegasus from #NASAMichoud to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Once it arrives at #NASAMarshall it will undergo structural testing.
The engine section will house four RS-25 engines and power the core stage of #NASASLS, the world's most powerful rocket.
Boeing engineer Tony Castilleja works on the CST-100 Starliner, which will provide NASA with transportation to and from the International Space Station.
WATCH Tony talk about what inspired him to become a rocket engineer - www.boeing.com/principles/education/students-families.pag...
Mike Bolger, Ground Systems Development and Operations Program manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, speaks to guests during a ceremony in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility. The event marked the milestone of the Space Launch System rocket's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) being turned over from NASA's Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution organization to the spaceport's Ground Systems Development and Operations directorate. The ICPS is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1.
Photo credit: NASA/ Bill White
At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the pedestal for an S-band antenna is checked out after mounting on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The right hand aft skirt for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has been refurbished and painted and is ready for the assembly process in the Booster Fabrication Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aft skirt was refurbished and painted in support facilities at the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The space shuttle-era aft skirt will be used on the right hand booster of the SLS for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). NASA is preparing for EM-1, deep space missions, and the Journey to Mars. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett
Kennedy Space Center Associate Director Kelvin Manning, right, speaks with a guest during a ceremony marking NASA's Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution (SPIE) organization formally turning over processing of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) to the center's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Directorate. The ICPS is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1. With the Orion attached, the ICPS sits atop the SLS rocket and will provide the spacecraft with the additional thrust needed to travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.
Photo credit: NASA/ Bill White
KSC-20250811-PH-KLS01_0136 (2025-08-11) --- From left to right, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot and Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, conduct suit-up operations inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. During a two-day operation, the Artemis II team practiced night-run demonstrations of different launch day scenarios like suit-up operations, walk-out, and arriving at the launch pad for the Artemis II test flight. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.  
At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians lift the pedestal for an S-band antenna for mounting on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians secure the pedestal for an S-band antenna in position on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA’s massive 212-foot long SLS (Space Launch System) core stage is offloaded from the agency’s Pegasus Barge on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) will transfer the rocket stage to the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building to prepare it for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
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The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: Eric Bordelon
At NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians secure the pedestal for an S-band antenna in position on its support structure. The antenna will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The S-band portion of the microwave spectrum combines command, voice and television signals though a single antenna.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett