Opening of 'Gray Box' @ Michoud

WASHINGTON - Boeing officially opened its production facility, at the Michoud Assembly Facility in East New Orleans, where it will build a new upper stage for an upgraded version of the Space Launch System (SLS). The company held a ribbon-cutting Feb. 13 at what it calls the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) Gray Box, a portion of building where Boeing will build that upper stage. “Gray Box” comes from a previous use of that part of the building, where Lockheed Martine produced liquid natural gas tanks, said John Shannon, mission area VP for Boeing Exploration Systems. The gas tank area was cordoned off from the rest of the facility with dark gray walls and curtains to keep dust away. The Gray Box is now pristine white is home to equipment used to manufacture the EUS. That stage will be used on the Block 1B version of the SLS with Artemis 4. The opening of the EUS Gray Box is part of broader changes Boeing is making in the production of the SLS core stage and upper stage. (Space News 02/15/23) Boeing opens SLS EUS production facility - SpaceNews