CAST CONNEX is a proud Gold Sponsor of the 10th Annual International Workshop on Connections in Steel Structures: Connections X 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio, from July 7-10, 2026. Members of our team will be attending and contributing to the technical program, including a presentation by CAST CONNEX Engineering Manager, Justin Binder.
Design of Innovative Cast Steel Nodes for Modular Construction of NASA’s ML2
Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) is NASA’s newest and largest mobile launch tower, designed to support Space Launch System (SLS) Rockets for Artemis missions, enabling the transport of astronauts and heavy cargo to the Moon and beyond.
The structural connections for ML2 needed to satisfy multiple critical requirements: they had to be lightweight to maintain tower mobility, robust enough to resist the extreme loads generated during SLS launches, geometrically adaptable, and manufactured with high precision to accommodate the modular approach used for during construction. To achieve these objectives, custom steel castings – including cast steel nodes and flange fittings – were implemented at all primary structural connection points throughout the launch tower.
This presentation will provide an overview of these cast steel connections and explain how the integration of bolted and welded details facilitated efficient shop fabrication and modular field installation. Particular focus is given to the module-to-module bolted connections incorporated into the cast nodes, for which an innovative interaction curve design methodology was developed to enable analysis of the geometrically complex bolted end-plate connections that were integrally cast as part of the nodes.
Date: Friday, July 10, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (EST)
Speaker: Justin Binder, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Event time:
July 7 - July 10, 2026
Presenter(s):
Justin Binder, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Location:
Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Ohio.
Cast Connex Booth:
