The Michoud Assembly Facility

By The Associated Press

NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility:

– A 43-acre plant on 832 acres in eastern New Orleans, Michoud includes a deep-water port for ships to load large structures. Tenants include U.S. Coast Guard, National Finance Center and the University of New Orleans National Biodynamics Laboratory.

Manufacturing history:

– Opened 1943.

– World War II: plywood cargo planes.

– Korean War: Tank engines.

– 1960s and 1970s: Saturn first-stage boosters for Apollo lunar missions and the Skylab program.

– 1970s to 2010: External fuel tanks for space shuttle program.

– Future: Lockheed Martin Corp. will build the Orion crew vehicle. Boeing Co. will build navigation system, upper stage of Ares I rocket.