NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

STS-135 Crew Visits Michoud

From right to left, STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim address Michoud workers in the factory Aug. 10. (Jacobs)
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The STS-135 crew visited NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility Aug. 10 to thank employees for their work in getting them into space. The crew also showed a video, which reflected on the 30-year Space Shuttle Program and described their mission.

Crew Commander Chris Ferguson told workers the external tank (ET) used for the mission was one of the best he has seen. Ferguson lauded employees for their work in building ET-138 and noted "ET-138 was a very clean tank."

On July 8, Commander Ferguson, along with pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, launched into space on board Space Shuttle Atlantis on a mission to deliver tons of supplies, including food and tools, to the International Space Station.

Doug Hurley, a Tulane graduate, said he was happy to be back in the Crescent City and glad to see so many Michoud workers come out and see the mission video. Hurley said ET-138 was "next to perfect."

Walheim said Michoud employees should consider the achievements of the International Space Station their own. "You all built that space station," Walheim said. "You should be proud of it."

NASA contractors at Michoud continue to build the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle, the next generation spacecraft.

Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is a world-class manufacturing facility providing vital support to NASA exploration and discovery missions. Michoud's capabilities include the manufacture and assembly of critical hardware components for the space shuttle and exploration vehicles under development at Marshall and other NASA field centers. Michoud is a NASA-owned facility managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.

Michoud is unique in that it contains one of the largest production buildings in the nation, which includes a vertical assembly building for stacking external tank components for the space shuttle program. Michoud supports several major projects for NASA’s Constellation Program, which is developing America’s next generation of space transportation vehicles. Michoud’s highly skilled workforce will manufacture and assemble the upper stage of the Ares I rocket, the core stage and Earth departure stage of the Ares V cargo rocket, and the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and will conduct final systems integration and checkout of Ares I avionics systems.

Helping to Rebuild New Orleans

Marshall Space Flight Center is also helping rebuild the New Orleans economy with employment opportunities at Michoud Assembly Facility, partnering with the State of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans, in support of the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Marshall works to develop new opportunities for Michoud’s manufacturing, testing and laboratory capabilities, and its underused green space and real property.

Requesting Utilization of Michoud: http://mafbusiness.msfc.nasa.gov/