Final piece of Discovery's driving force now at KSC

Jessica Rye
October 7, 2004
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

PHOTO RELEASE: P15-04

FINAL PIECE OF DISCOVERY'S DRIVING FORCE NOW AT KSC

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the KSC Engine Shop, Boeing-Rocketdyne
technicians remove the container that enclosed the third and final Space
Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) for Discovery's Return to Flight mission STS-114.
The engine is returning from NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi
where it underwent a hot fire acceptance test. Typically, the three main
engines are installed on an orbiter in the Orbiter Processing Facility
approximately five months before launch. The SSME operates at greater
temperature extremes than any mechanical system in common use today. The
liquid hydrogen fuel is -423 degrees Fahrenheit, the second-coldest liquid
on Earth. When the hydrogen is burned with liquid oxygen, the temperature in
the engine's combustion chamber reaches +6000 degrees Fahrenheit. The
maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSMEs during launch is
slightly more than 37 million horsepower. The energy released is equivalent
to the output of 23 Hoover Dams. Discovery is currently targeted for launch
no earlier than May 14, 2005.

KSC Photo Number: 04PD-2089





A complete gallery of NASA Kennedy Space Center photos is available at:

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/index.cfm



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info