NASA, Boeing change SLS process

NASA and Boeing are changing how they assemble the core stage of the Space Launch System, moving some of the final integration work from New Orleans, La., to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Currently, the five major sections of the core stage - forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, interstage, liquid hydrogen tank and engine section - are manufactured and joined together at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. Starting with the SLS manufactured for Artemis 3, the upper four-fifths of the SLS will be joined at Michoud and shipped to KSC. The engine section will still be manufactured at MAF but shipped separately to KSC, where it will undergo final outfitting at the Space Station Processing Facility there, including installation of its four RS-25 engines. It will later be attached to the rest of the core stage inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. (Source: SpaceNews, 12/07/22)