Follow ET-134's Seafaring Journey and Sail With NASA!

Check out coverage of ET-134’s journey from Michoud to Kennedy Space Center with Steve Roy, Marshall Space Flight Center Shuttle spokesperson. Steve has been accompanying the External Tank from building 420 at Michoud all the way to Kennedy Space Center.

The blog offers a great history of Michoud and recognizes the hard work and effort of Michoud employees that are so critical to successful shuttle launches.

Come sail with us at https://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/sailing_with_nasa!

Letters from Leadership


(Photo: Acting Manager, Steve Doering)

As I begin my second full month as acting manager here at MAF, NASA is facing a major transition and with transition will come change.  I’m confident that MAF will continue to play a significant role in the future of human space flight.

As many of you know, a summary report from the Augustine panel was delivered last month to NASA. The final report is still being compiled and edited and will be released after the committee completes its work.  NASA is awaiting the final report and is working with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Executive Office of the President to plan the next steps leading to a decision by the President.   NASA will be working with the administration to determine how best to shape the agency’s human space flight efforts for the future.  However, until the committee’s final report is released and the options thoroughly considered, it is premature to draw conclusions about any changes in human space flight plans.

Meanwhile, MAF is staying focused on it current missions.  As we heard from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden during his visit to MAF in August, the President is committed to a strong human spaceflight program.  Here at MAF, we continue to deliver External Tanks for the remaining Space Shuttle missions.  We are building hardware for the Orion capsule, and finishing the facility modifications for full production.  Ares Upper Stage has completed designs for their major facility work, and many components of manufacturing tooling have been delivered. 

The MAF workforce is the most dedicated and skilled group of folks around and I am proud to join the team.  Continue to work hard and focus on what we’ve been doing successfully for many years.

Steve Doering
Acting Manager
Michoud Assembly Facility

Calling All Michoud Employees! Town Hall Meetings Coming…


The Jacobs Manufacturing Support and Facilities Operations Contract (MSFOC) team is holding a series of town hall meetings May 7-8 for all incumbent employees at Michoud. Check it out at http://www.jacobstechnology.com/msfoc/transition.html

The Jacobs team has a very informative web site that explains their phase-in process and communicates the latest news and information regarding MSFOC activities. Bookmark it at http://www.jacobstechnology.com/msfoc/welcome.html

Spring is Busy With Activity as Transition Continues at Michoud


Editor’s note: Welcome to the new Michoud Assembly Facility Blog! This blog will accompany our media web site to provide an inside look and perspective on NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans — the people, the work, the capability, the mission…cajun-style! Got any ideas for blogs? Let us know! E-mail us at
angela.d.storey@nasa.gov.

(Photo: Michoud Manager, Sheila Cloud)



The last several months have been filled with a flurry of activity at the Michoud Assembly Facility. In January, the STS-126 crew visited Michoud to thank our work force for their important role in the crew’s successful launch and mission.


Following mission highlights in January, STS-126 astronaut Heide Stephanyshyn-Piper,
right, presented a plaque to the Michoud work force featuring a flag patch that flew
on her mission. Randy Tassin, Lockheed Martin vice president of program
management and technical operations at Michoud, accepted the gift. (Lockheed Martin)

Transition truly began taking shape in February and March with facility modifications for Orion work and installation of the robotic weld tooling for the Orion project. ET-130 is already on the launch pad for the STS-125 launch in May. ET-131 is also at Kennedy Space Center ready to support the STS-127 June launch and the External Tank assembly team is close to completing ET-132 which will ship from Michoud to Kennedy Space Center in early May.


ET-130 sits on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center with the orbiter Atlantis
awaiting the May launch of STS-125. (NASA/KSC)

The LaSpace/NASA Michoud Education Fellow Program hosted its first scientist telecon in March for 60 local high school students, focusing on orbital mechanics. Michoud also participated in a Covington job fair reaching over 1,600 high school students in Louisiana, educating them on the many exciting career paths in science and technology. April brought key Friction Stir Welding stakeholders to Michoud for a meeting to discuss the value of the technology and how to move the technology into the U.S. industry, specifically the aluminum shipbuilding industry. On April 16, the Orion team completed a milestone with a successful first robotic weld on an Orion crew module ground test article. As you can see, Michoud continues to be a place of innovation and excellence, opening doors of opportunity for technology, economic development and education in Louisiana.


Michoud Chief Operating Officer Chip Jones, right, gives an overview of Michoud to
NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) during a facility tour March 6.
The panel visited Michoud for a briefing on Michoud’s safety culture and industrial
safety trends, as well as transition plans for the facility. ASAP was established in 1968
to evaluate and advise on NASA’s safety performance. (Lockheed Martin)

Moving to another area of excellence, I would like to commend the external tank team members for their meticulous attention to detail and commitment to safety. During the last three shuttle missions, the external tank has performed superbly with minimal loss of thermal protection system. Our work at Michoud is vital to providing safe, reliable shuttle missions. Because of your commitment to excellence, the shuttle missions are the safest they have ever been. Thank you!


The robotic cross beam for the Ares I Upper Stage robotic weld tool is delivered to the main
manufacturing building at Michoud for installation later this year. (NASA)

2009 is going to be a year of significant change for Michoud and I want to share our five-year vision for Michoud. We are transitioning our facility to a multi-product and a multi-customer facility. We will ensure delivery of external tank hardware, while providing start up and manufacturing support for various activities within Ares and Orion projects. This includes implementing an integrated master plan and investments, upgrades, new facilities and retrofitting existing facilities. We will partner with the state of Louisiana for continued growth at Michoud, and bolster Greater New Orleans recovery efforts by supporting regional rebuilding and improving the quality of life for Michoud employees. That’s a tall order — but we are poised to move forward successfully with these endeavors.

Finally, I would like to update you on the status of the Manufacturing Support for Facility Operations (MSFOC) contract. The contract is slated to be awarded in the very near future. We have developed a 62-day transition plan to turn over facilities management to the new contractor. This contract will enable Michoud to move from a single project facility to a multi-project facility managing the Shuttle External Tank, Orion, Ares I Upper Stage, Ares instrument unit and Ares V Earth Departure Stage and Booster projects. In addition, Michoud includes the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM), federal tenants and future green space development and collaborative partnerships with the state of Louisiana. NASA will hold an employee general assembly meeting soon to announce the contract award and introduce the new contractor.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2009 — and for decades to come, enabling the next generation of human spacecraft to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Sheila Cloud
Manager
Michoud Assembly Facility