Huge weld tool nearly complete

NEW ORLEANS -- The 170-foot Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) is near completion and will soon be ready to build the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket in history and designed for deep space missions. VAC is the world's largest spacecraft welding tool, part of a family of tools at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility designed to build the core stage. The core stage will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle's RS-25 engines, which will be tested at nearby Stennis Space Center, Miss. The core stage, comprised of the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank, the intertank, the liquid hydrogen tank and the engine section, recently passed its critical design review. (Source: Space Travel, 07/23/14) Previous