NASA To Ship Fuel Tank For The Last Planned Shuttle Flight
NEW ORLEANS -- The external fuel tank that will power the last planned
space shuttle into orbit will be shipped Tuesday to NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. The tank has been restored to flight
configuration at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans
after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The tank, designated ET-122, will support shuttle Endeavour's flight
targeted for launch in February.
At Michoud, ET-122 was rolled out to an enclosed barge, which will
carry the tank 900 miles to Kennedy Space Center during a five to
six-day sea journey. ET-122 is expected to arrive at Kennedy Sunday, Sept. 26.
During the hurricane, the roof of the building that housed the tank
was ripped off by high winds. After falling debris damaged the tank,
it was removed from the shuttle flight manifest. Lockheed Martin
engineers assessed the damage, and prepared and executed a tank
restoration plan.
The Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Ala., manages the External Tank Project. Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Co. of Denver is the prime contractor. For more
than 29 years of shuttle flights, Lockheed Martin workers at Michoud
have built and delivered 135 flight tanks to NASA's Space Shuttle Program.
Standing 15 stories tall and almost 28 feet in diameter, the external
tank is the largest element of the shuttle transportation system,
which also includes the orbiter, main engines and twin solid rocket
boosters. During a shuttle launch, the external tank delivers 535,000
gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants to the
shuttle's three main engines. Despite the tank's size, the aluminum
skin covering it is only one-eighth-inch thick in most areas. Yet, it
withstands more than 6.5 million pounds of thrust during liftoff and
ascent. The tank is the only shuttle component that is not reused.
For more information about the Space Shuttle Program and the last two
planned shuttle flights, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Source: NASA
