Production Begins on Sixth Core Stage Hardware
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans continue to make progress manufacturing core stages for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. In August, teams with NASA and Boeing, SLS core stage prime contractor, completed the first ring for the sixth SLS core stage. The core stage rings are welded together through a friction-stir welding process. A completed ring is 27.6 feet in diameter and serves as a connection point to join the large core stage structures together. The rings also provide structural stability to the bottoms of the domes.