NEW ORLEANS (AP) - NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is making his first official visit to the New Orleans site where workers assemble major parts of the Orion spacecraft and the huge rocket that will carry it into space.

Bridenstine was scheduled to deliver remarks Monday at the Michoud Assembly Center and join news media in a tour of the facility.

A NASA news release says workers at Michoud, led by prime contractor Boeing, are building the core stage of the 322-foot-tall rocket known as the Space Launch System.

Also at Michoud, Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for large parts of the Orion spacecraft.