Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have completed a major portion of the advanced upper stage of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. On October 24, the hardware was rotated to a horizontal position and moved to another part of the facility. The welded confidence part, which is part of the SLS rocket's exploration upper stage liquid oxygen tank (see infographic below), is the fifth of seven welded confidence parts engineers have built for the SLS rocket's Block 1B configuration.

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Photo credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Starting with the Artemis IV program, SLS will evolve to the more powerful Block1B configuration, whose advanced final stage gives the rocket the ability to launch Artemis astronauts and 40% more astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft to the moon.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket provides propulsion in stages to send NASA's Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo to the moon for the Artemis lunar landing mission. At liftoff, the core stage and dual solid rocket boosters ignite, propelling the rocket off the launch pad and into orbit. After entering orbit, the final stage of the rocket provides space propulsion, allowing the spacecraft to enter a precise orbit. While the rocket's core stage design remains the same for each Artemis mission, the rocket's final stage is chosen based on different mission requirements and goals. During the first three Artemis missions, including those that put the first woman and next man on the moon, SLS will use an interim cryogenic propulsion stage with an RL10 engine to send Orion to the moon. Later missions will use a modified SLSBlock1B rocket configuration, using an exploration final stage with a larger fuel tank and four RL10 engines to send manned Orion and large cargo to the moon. Image credit: NASA/Kevin O'Brien

The team uses weld confidence specifications to verify the interface between welding procedures, tools and hardware, and the structural integrity of welds. The liquid oxygen tank's dome was first welded to its structural ring using friction stir welding tools at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The hardware was shipped to Michoud, where Michoud staff at the Liquid Oxygen Tank Assembly Center (LTAC) completed the welding of the hardware. Marshall and Michoud engineers simultaneously tested and analyzed the hardware to verify welding parameters.

This video shows how technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans complete welding on a major portion of the advanced upper stage of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Source: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA and Boeing, the prime contractors for the SLS core and exploration final stages, are simultaneously producing final stage structural test pieces and flight hardware structures at Marshall and Michoud.

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon aboard Artemis. SLS is part of NASA's Deep Space Exploration Backbone, along with Orion and the Gateway facilities in lunar orbit and the Commercial Crew Landing System. SLS is the only rocket capable of sending Orion, astronauts and supplies to the moon in a single mission.