“Technicians assist as the engine section of the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage for NASA’s Artemis III mission is moved into the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 15, 2022. The section was shipped from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Dec. 10, 2022 aboard the Pegasus barge, was offloaded, and transferred to the SSPF. Teams will begin processing operations ahead of final integration in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Artemis III will send astronauts, including the first woman and first person of color, on a mission aboard the Orion spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. ” – via nasa.gov
Futuramic’s aerospace tooling, flight hardware, and access stands for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) are used to assemble the Core Stage for Artemis III at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. Many Futuramic tools helped complete the Core Stage and included the Engine Section Final Assembly Jig, access stands, and numerous machined Core Stage flight hardware beams for the final structure.
Engine Section Final Assembly Jig (FAJ)
Futuramic’s Engine Section Final Assembly Jig at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility
The engineering and manufacturing challenges related to this tool were the overwhelmingly vertical space constraints and crane capacity. This FAJ consists of three removable assembly platforms that disassemble in a “cake box” fashion allowing the tooling to be removed from the finished Engine Section in the limited height environment. The tool does incorporate numerous drill jigs including the 720 holes that create the interface between the Engine Section / Boat tail and the LH2 Tank. Futuramic also built the Boat tail FAJ.
Futuramic’s Engine Section Final Assembly Jig at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility
Flight Hardware
Futuramic’s Thrust Structure at NASA’s Michoud Assembly
Most directly applicable to the Pylon Structure is likely the thrust structure for the Space Launch System. Futuramic developed the manufacturing process and machined these tight tolerance beams for the final structure.
Artemis III Core Stage Segment Being Moved to Cell G at NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF)
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- Image credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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- Image credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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- Image credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
About NASA’s Kennedy Space Center,
Kennedy Space Center, one of 10 NASA field centers, is a premier multiuser spaceport with more than 90 private-sector partners and nearly 250 partnership agreements. The presence of commercial companies at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is larger than ever before, enabling us to embark on a new era of space exploration. Although Kennedy is the agency’s main launch site, the center also is home to facilities that research and develop innovative solutions that government and commercial space ventures need for working and living on the surfaces of the Moon and other bodies in our solar system.