Closeup inside the VWC.
NASA’s rocket factory has all kinds of unique tools to build the worlds largest rocket. One of them is the Gore Weld Tool, it’s part of what is known as the Enhanced Robotic Weld Tool. The tool’s job is to perform vertical friction stir welds in the domed portions of the fuel tanks. When finished, the fuel tanks stand around 130 feet tall.
The Forward Skirt is part of NASA’s Space Launch System. Housing flight computers, cameras and avionics it is pretty much the brain of the rocket. This photo was taken a couple weeks after it’s final assembly was completed at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. It will be used in Exploration Mission-1, launching from the Kennedy Space Center in June 2020. #5 in the following NASA Infographic: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/infographics/corestage101.html Space Launch System: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
