Artemis IV Liquid Hydrogen Tank Prepares for Non-Destructive Evaluation

Move crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank out of the vertical assembly building and into a production area inside the 43-acre rocket factory on March 6, 2026. The tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for its Artemis IV mission, will soon undergo a series of non-destructive evaluation tests to ensure the tank is ready for the next step in the production process. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker