Liquid Hydrogen Tank for Artemis III Rocket Moves to Final Assembly at NASA Michoud

In February, Michoud crews with NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, completed the thermal protection system on the external structure of the rocket’s liquid hydrogen propellant fuel tank, using a robotic tool in what is now the largest single application in spaceflight history.

The robotically controlled operation coated the tank with spray-on foam insulation, distributing 107 feet of the foam to the tank in 102 minutes. When the foam is applied to the core stage, it gives the rocket a canary yellow color. The Sun's ultraviolet rays naturally “tan” the thermal protection, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color, like the space shuttle external tank. Overall, the rocket’s core stage is 212 feet with a diameter of 27.6 feet, the same diameter as the space shuttle’s external tank.

The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks feed four RS-25 engines for approximately 500 seconds before SLS reaches low Earth orbit and the core stage separates from the upper stage and NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The core stage of SLS is the largest NASA has ever built by length and volume, and it was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.

For more information, and to learn more about the Artemis campaign visit https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/...

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