At which NASA facility were Space Shuttle external tanks manufactured?

Space Shuttle external tanks were manufactured and assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Michoud became one of NASA’s major large-structure manufacturing sites during the Space Shuttle Program. Martin Marietta operated the external-tank production effort there, fabricating and assembling the enormous tanks that supplied liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the shuttle’s main engines.

The external tank was the largest element of the shuttle stack, standing about 15 stories tall. After completion and inspection at Michoud, tanks were transported by barge to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the orbiter and solid rocket boosters. The facility’s water access was therefore a major logistical advantage.

A frequent mix-up is Marshall Space Flight Center, which managed the Michoud facility and played a major role in external-tank engineering and oversight. Johnson Space Center handled crewed-flight operations and mission control, while Kennedy handled launch processing. Michoud ultimately supported production of 136 external tanks, including the final tank used for the program’s last mission.