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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans boasts a long and colorful history dating back more than 240 years.
The original 35,000 acre site was first deeded to a Louisiana soldier/statesman by the King of France in 1763. The land, located some 15 miles northeast of the central business district, served as a source of timber for the building and repair of ships and as a rich hunting ground for local trappers and fur traders.
In later years, the fertile, low-lying fields were used in the growing of sugar cane, and for almost 100 years a sprawling plantation was owned and operated by the Michoud family, descendents of Antoine Michoud, for whom the tract was named.
With the outbreak of war in 1940, large tracts of land with deep-water access were needed for defense-related construction. One thousand acres of the former Michoud Plantation were acquired by the U. S. Maritime Commission for the site of Liberty Ship construction by Andrew Jackson Higgins.
Site development began immediately, but in 1942 utilization plans for the tract were changed and a contract was issued to Mr. Higgins for construction of 1,200 plywood cargo planes at the Michoud facility. Development continued and in October, 1943, the main production facility, encompassing 43 acres under one roof, was completed and construction of the aircraft began.
Two years later, with the war drawing to a close, Michoud was closed and placed in the inventory of the War Assets Administration.
The New Orleans Dock Board acquired the tract through a lease/purchase agreement. The site was to serve as an industrial development complex but in January, 1951, with the outbreak of fighting in Korea, the Michoud site was reclaimed by the Federal Government through condemnation hearings.
Under direction of the Birmingham District of the U. S. Army Ordnance Department, the Michoud plant was reopened in 1951 for the construction of 12-cylinder air-cooled engines for Sherman and Patton tanks. As war conditions improved, however, production was reduced and the Michoud facility closed in July, 1953.
Eight and one-half years later in 1961, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration acquired the Michoud facility through a Congressionally approved property transfer from the Department of Defense. The site would be used to support the National Space Program by serving as a final assembly facility for the design, development and manufacture of large space launch vehicles requiring water transportation to launch sites.
Early development efforts culminated in July, 1969, when the first man visited the dusty surface of the moon. The crew of that Apollo Mission was powered on their flight by a Michoud-built Saturn 1C booster.
In 1973, Martin Marietta Aerospace was awarded a contract to design, develop and manufacture nine external propellant tanks for the Space Shuttle System. The external tank, which provides some 1.6 million pounds of propellants for the Shuttle's three main engines, is the only component of the Space Shuttle that is not recovered for reuse.
Lockheed Martin is currently on contract to produce the 154-foot long, 28-foot in diameter tanks through at least 2010.
Today, the 833 acre Michoud facility contains one of the largest production buildings in the nation, a vertical assembly building for stacking external tank components, pneumostatic and systems test buildings, a deep-water port for shipment, manufacturing support buildings and administrative offices. Other government agencies such as the National Finance Center for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Defense Contract Audit Administration and the Defense Contract Management Agency share space with NASA. The U.S. Coast Guard Integrated Services Command has relocated to the MAF after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their facility. NASA Constellation programs Ares I and Orion are currently at the facility. The University of New Orleans operating the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing conducts classes at the facility.
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