NASA completed the manufacturing of a hydrogen tank barrel that will be tested as a weld confidence article for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). The EUS will provide the power to send astronauts in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon.
After NASA and Boeing completed manufacturing of the test tank barrel at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians moved it from the Vertical Weld Center where it was built to the Vertical Assembly Center for further processing. Engineers will cut the barrel into small sections for mechanical testing and analysis that will help verify the parameters that will be used to build the rocket stage.
For NASA’s first three Artemis missions, the SLS rocket will use an interim cryogenic propulsion stage with one RL10 engine to send Orion to the Moon. The EUS will be used on the rocket’s Block IB evolved configuration for flights beyond Artemis III.
Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a stepping stone on the way to Mars.
