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Spanning 832 acres with more than two million square feet of manufacturing space under one roof, the site has produced the massive hardware that powered U.S. ambitions from the Moon landings through the Space Shuttle era and now to the Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis.<\/p>\n
NASA acquired the former Michoud Ordnance Plant in 1961 on the recommendation of Wernher von Braun.<\/p>\n
Originally built during World War II for cargo planes and later used for tank engines, the facility offered vast bays, high ceilings, and critical barge access along the Intracoastal Waterway and Mississippi River \u2014 infrastructure ideal for assembling enormous rocket components destined for Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n
In the 1960s, contractors Chrysler and Boeing transformed Michoud into a production hub for the Saturn rocket family.<\/p>\n
Chrysler built the S-IB first stages for the Saturn IB, while Boeing manufactured the massive S-IC first stages for the Saturn V \u2014 then the most powerful rocket ever flown.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/NSF-2026-03-29-22-14-42-856.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSaturn rocket hardware at Michoud, via NASA<\/p>\n
Production continued through December 1972, supporting the Apollo program\u2019s historic lunar landings. The completed stages were often shipped by barge for testing at Stennis and Marshall Space Flight Centers before final transit to Florida.<\/p>\n
After Apollo concluded, Michoud pivoted to the Space Shuttle program. From 1973 to 2010, prime contractor Martin Marietta (later Lockheed Martin) produced all 136 Space Shuttle external tanks (ETs) at the facility.<\/p>\n
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The first flight-ready tank rolled out in 1979 for STS-1; the final one departed in 2010 for STS-134. They transited on the Pegasus Barge, which has since been modified for carrying SLS core stages.<\/p>\n
The first two tanks were painted white due to concerns about ultraviolet degradation of the spray-on foam insulation (Thermal Protection System).
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\nOnce testing confirmed the foam was stable without paint, NASA eliminated the coating \u2014 saving several hundred pounds of weight and increasing payload capacity.<\/p>\nThe tanks\u2019 natural orange color, from the foam itself (which sometimes tanned further in sunlight), became iconic and is now familiar on SLS core stages.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/NSF-2026-03-29-22-12-23-721.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFour Shuttle External Tanks lined up for a Michoud All-Hands meeting, via L2.<\/p>\n
With the Shuttle\u2019s retirement, Michoud adapted once again for the SLS program.<\/p>\n
Boeing serves as the prime contractor for the 212-foot-tall core stage. Lockheed Martin also fabricates Orion spacecraft pressure vessels and launch abort system components on-site.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n