Michoud Assembly Facility in 1968

The Michoud Assembly Facility is an 832 acre (3.4 km²) site owned by NASA and located in New Orleans East, Louisiana. It is used for the construction of the Space Shuttle's External tanks by its lead contractor Lockheed Martin. It is one of the largest manufacturing plants in the world with 43 acres (174,000 m²) under one roof and employs 2000 people. Download high resolution version (1500x1203, 822 KB) An aerial view of the manufacturing area at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF). ... Download high resolution version (1500x1203, 822 KB) An aerial view of the manufacturing area at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF). ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (established 1958) is the government agency responsible for the United States of Americas space program and long-term general aerospace research. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... Diagram of Space Shuttle External Tank showing internal structure The Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer and supplies them under pressure to the three space shuttle main engines in the orbiter during lift-off and ascent. ... Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ...

The facility was originally constructed in 1940 by the United States government for the war production during World War II to make plywood cargo planes and landing craft. During the Korean War it made engines for Sherman and Patton tanks. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... A cargo aircraft, also alternately known as a transport aircraft, is an aircraft dedicated to handling transport of materials and oversized loads. ... Landing craft Rapière A landing craft is a type of boat used to convey infantry and vehicles on to a shore during an assault from sea to land. ... The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... General characteristics Length 5. ... The M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the United States Armys principal tanks of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. ...

It came under the management of the NASA in 1961 and was used for the construction of the S-IC first stage of the Saturn V rocket and the S-IB first stage of the Saturn IB rocket. It is home to the first stage of the last constructed Saturn V, SA-515. 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... The S-IC was the first stage of the Saturn V rocket. ... This article is about the rocket. ... Diagram of the S-IB first stage of the Saturn IB rocket. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated verson of the Saturn I, which was the first manned launch vehicle that was not directly derived from an ICBM (though its tanks were derived from the Jupiter and Redstone tanks, and its first stage engines were Navaho derived). ...

External link

• Michoud Operations (http://www.lockheedmartin.com/michoud/)
• GlobalSecurity.org (http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/facility/michoud.htm)