Michoud Assembly Facility

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The Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) is an 832-acre (3.4-km²) site owned by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and located in Eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 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 it employs approximately 2000 people.

The facility was originally constructed in 1940 at the village of Michoud, Louisiana 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.

It came under the management of 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. The Michoud Assembly Facility is most closely associated with the construction and production of NASA's External Tank (ET) program.

The facility was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, with all shifts initially cancelled up to September 26, 2005, potentially setting back further Shuttle flights. All the buildings and the shuttle hardware within survived the hurricane without grave damage, but the roof of the main building was breached and debris damaged one of the fuel tanks stored inside. On September 16, 2005 NASA announced^[1] that the repairs were progressing faster than anticipated, and so they will continue to use Michoud for external tank work. On October 3, 2005, the facility officially reopened for essential personnel, though some key personnel had returned earlier. On October 31, 2005, the facility reopened to all personnel. Approximately 30 Lockheed Martin employees stayed behind during Hurricane Katrina to man the pumping systems and more than likely were the reason that the Michoud Facility suffered very little damage. These employees were awarded one of NASA's highest bravery awards.

The Michoud Assembly Facility also houses other organizations such as the National Finance Center operated by the USDA and the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a partnership between the state of Louisiana, the University of New Orleans, and NASA.

[edit] Reference

• ↑  - September 16, 2005 NASA press release stating that they plan to resume work at the facility, despite damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. [2]

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 30.025000° -89.915000°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• Michoud Operations
• GlobalSecurity.org
• Status report after the hurricane
• National Center for Advanced Manufacturing
• National Finance Center