Tag: MAF
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NASA and Boeing working on optimizing SLS stage production at MAF
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) program and Stages prime contractor Boeing are collaborating on optimizing the production areas at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The final assembly of the second Core Stage is underway as work expands to cover the production of multiple Core Stages and Exploration Upper Stages (EUS) for the…
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MAF continues tornado/hurricane recovery while building SLS stages under pandemic restrictions
Boeing is moving into the final phases of standalone integration and outfitting of Core Stage-2 elements and is about to start putting the elements together as production of Core Stage-3 continues with structural assembly of the engine section while preparations are in work for Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) manufacturing to start later in the year.…
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NASA, Boeing approaching first major join of second SLS Core Stage
Operations for the first major join of the main elements of the second Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage are expected to begin later in March as NASA and prime contractor Boeing work to deliver the stage in 2022 for the Artemis 2 launch. The three elements that compose the top half of the rocket,…
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SLS continues post-hurricane cleanups and prepares for Core Stage Green Run valve repair
NASA and Boeing continued troubleshooting issues with the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage found during summer Green Run testing while cleanup from the mess created by Hurricane Zeta continued in the greater New Orleans area. The hurricane plowed through NASA facilities in the area on the evening of October 28, causing roof and siding…
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SLS Program hit by Hurricane Zeta while working through Green Run issues
The law of averages caught up to the New Orleans area and the two NASA facilities located nearby when Hurricane Zeta roared directly through them on the evening of October 28 as a Category Two storm. Several tropical weather systems had spared the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans East and the Stennis Space…
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Boeing negotiating with NASA on future SLS Core Stage production
Now that the first of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stages has shipped from the factory, prime contractor Boeing is refining production plans for the second flight article and continuing negotiations with the civilian space agency for future production. The production team at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans is applying lessons…
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First NASA SLS Core Stage rolls out – Ships to Stennis
Working through almost all of the standard fortnight year-end holiday, Boeing’s final assembly team for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage completed work on their first rocket with Core Stage-1 leaving the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) factory early on the morning of January 8. NASA held a ceremonial event in early December to mark…
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Boeing, NASA getting ready for SLS Core Stage Green Run campaign ahead of Stennis arrival
As NASA showed off the first assembled Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage to government stakeholders and media at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, prime contractor Boeing continued preparations to ship the stage to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as soon as they can. While the TV camera “red lights” were…
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Aerojet Rocketdyne overviews RS-25 installation success ahead of MAF rollout milestone
Four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines are fully installed in a NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage for the first time. The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) donated to SLS from the forty-year long program that ended in 2011 were hard-mated in Core Stage-1 last week after being physically attached between mid-October and early November.…
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First SLS Core Stage begins final testing ahead of shipment
NASA and prime contractor Boeing are working to finish assembly and checkout of the first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage next month and send it on its way to a rocket test facility by Christmas. Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing attached the last of four RS-25 engines on the stage in early November at NASA’s…