Novartis

Lockheed Martin and Later Boeing manage the Michoud Assembly facility in New Orleans LA. They asked members of ALS specifically to help them develop a new process for joining panels that comprise the External Tank of the Shuttle Launch System(SLS). Our Engineers responded over the course of a year to help them in this Endeavor(pun intended) called Friction Stir Welding. This process is required with the use of new Alloy that will save 8000 pounds per flight(PPF) but that is subject a higher amount of defects from the Fusion Plasma welding processes.