Artemis III SLS LOX tank heading to final assembly before core stage mating begins [credit: NASA/Evan Deroche]
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1nn5h3r
![Artemis III SLS LOX tank heading to final assembly before core stage mating begins [credit: NASA/Evan Deroche]](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/xvchkjxbflqf1-1024x683.jpg "Artemis III SLS LOX tank heading to final assembly before core stage mating begins [credit: NASA/Evan Deroche]")
Artemis III SLS LOX tank heading to final assembly before core stage mating begins [credit: NASA/Evan Deroche]
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1nn5h3r
5 Comments
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Former JPL engineer here. Knowing how sensitive those things are to the slightest ding or nick, seeing that just gives me the screaming heebie jeebies. I can’t believe they’re being transported around, on vehicles, OUTDOORS, without a hull around them! I am reminded of one of the last shuttle astronauts recounting watching a worker working on a fuel tank with a tool hanging down scoring the tank underneath him as he moved and the astronaut thinking, “I’m going to die on this mission.” (From a book about the decline in safety culture towards the end of the program)
It just really doesn’t seem like that should be so unprotected.
These pictures just made it click to me how there must be an entire parallel engineering team building ground support equipment for this stuff. I bet that’s actually pretty interesting.
I wonder how much that LOX tank cost (given how over budget the program is).
The best thing about the SLS is you could make some pretty good wet workshops on the cheap compared to other space stations. I always say that they should be reworked for Skylab II and the lunar gateway, supplied by the BFR.