See the latest piece of NASA hardware built in New Orleans

NOLA.com ^ | Jenifer Larino

[BenLurkin]

Workers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East on Thursday (Feb. 22) rolled out the latest piece of hardware for the nation's new deep-space rocket. Watch the video above to see the piece being shipped out.

The piece, a structural test version of the intertank that will eventually be housed in NASA's Space Launch System, was loaded Thursday morning onto the agency's Pegasus barge. The barge, first used during the Space Shuttle program, will carry the intertank to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for testing.

Michoud Assembly Facility on Thursday Feb. 22, 2018 rolled out the latest piece of hardward for NASA's Space Launch System, a 48-foot-high intertank that will connect the rocket's fuel tanks.
(Photo by Jude Guidry provided by NASA)

[rktman]

Spent 12 years in that plant. ‘75-’87 then 24 yrs at KSC until 2011 and last landing of shuttle Atlantis.

[raiderboy]

Completely close nasa. Go free enterprize. Nasa is amateur compared to space x

[libertylover]

Thank you.

[HighSierra5]

I happened to see the launch of the Falcon 9 the other day from Vandenberg at dawn. Pretty cool. Is the Falcon Heavy going to be used for the SLS?

[Moonman62]

Nope.

SLS is a big, expensive government project that will probably get cancelled at some point.

Falcon Heavy is an insurance policy in case SpaceX has problems getting their next rocket operational, known as the BFR. It will have more lift than the Saturn V and be completely reusable.

[GingisK]

Space X would be nowhere without what went before.

[PAR35]

All NASA needs is a few Nazis in charge.

[plain talk]

Very cool. Glad Michoud is up and at em again.

[rktman]

Awesome accidental 36 yr career. From labor grade 7 mechanic to test conductor to systems, pneumatic, propulsion, integration, loading/launch engineering. 😹🇺🇸🚀💸

[raiderboy]

Nasa needs to hang it up.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin. APoD list ping.

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[COBOL2Java]

Space X would be nowhere without what went before.

The Declaration of Independence would be nowhere without what went before.

The 1955 Ford Thunderbird would be nowhere without what went before.

Cloud Computing would be nowhere without what went before.

What's your point?

[Theoria]

[Jeff Chandler]

Once ze rockets go up
Who cares where zay come down
Zat’s not my department
Says Verner Von Braun

-Tom Lehrer

[jdsteel]

I hope you are right about Space X, but the dude running things makes me very skeptical.

[Moonman62]

My guess is you don’t know that much about the dude running things.

[jdsteel]

Your guess is wrong. I am a fan of private space industry, but I am not a fan of Elon Musk, who has probably received more money (directly or with tax incentives) from the US government than anyone else in history. His other company, Tesla, still hasn’t made one dollar of profit and sold its first car in 2008.

[Moonman62]

My guess is right. All you know is the one small thing that confirms your cognitive bias against him.

[jdsteel]

Sounds to me like you are the one with bias. Know what happens when you “assume”????