Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have completed the application of the thermal protection systems on the149-foot-long liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Now, the tank is being prepared for joining with other major structures to form the rocket’s 212-foot core stage. The stage’s four RS-25 engines will produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the rocket to orbit for Exploration Mission-1, the first flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft that will travel beyond the Moon. The tank is the largest piece of flight hardware to ever be insulated at Michoud. The hardware requires thermal protection due to extreme temperatures it will face during launch and to keep the liquid hydrogen at minus 423 degrees during the flight to space.
Image Credit: NASA/Jude Guidry