Andrew Yee
February 24th 06, 10:19 PM
Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington February 24, 2006
(202) 358-4769
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(256) 544-0034
RELEASE: 06-083
NASA SHIPS EXTERNAL FUEL TANK FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans,
workers at the nearby NASA Michoud Assembly Facility persevered
through their own personal hardships to deliver a newly designed
external fuel tank for the space shuttle.
As a result, the tank that will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery on
its next mission will head to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., this
weekend. The exact time of departure will be determined by real-time
operational conditions.
The huge orange tank designated ET-119, will be loaded on a covered
barge today at Michoud for shipment Saturday. The barge is expected
to take five to six days to travel from the Mississippi River-Gulf of
Mexico Outlet to Florida's Banana River, which flows into the
Atlantic Ocean.
At Kennedy, the tank will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly
Building for final checkout and eventually attached to the twin solid
rocket boosters and Discovery for its mission (STS-121) to the
International Space Station. NASA managers are targeting a launch
window for Discovery in May.
The tank feeds 535,000 gallons of liquid propellants -- hydrogen and
oxygen -- to the shuttle's three main engines, which power it to
orbit. For the first time, the tank will fly without Protuberance Air
Load (PAL) ramps. The ramps were on the tank to protect a cable tray
and two pressurization oxygen and hydrogen lines during the dynamic
portion of launch, which includes liftoff through about the first
three minutes of the climb to orbit. There are two PAL ramps on the
external tank, one at the top of the liquid oxygen portion of the
tank, which is 14 feet long and consists of 14 pounds of foam. The
other is a liquid hydrogen PAL ramp, which is 38 feet long and
contains 21 pounds of foam.
Following last summer's shuttle mission, STS-114, detailed
inspections, engineering analysis and testing were performed on
external tanks at Michoud. As a result, the Space Shuttle Program
determined the PAL ramps were not necessary and it would be a safety
improvement to fly the remaining shuttle missions without the ramps
on the tank.
Wind tunnel testing using the data is scheduled to begin in mid-March
and continue through April to corroborate those conclusions.
Additional work to the tank included minor redesign work on ice/frost
ramps, the foam segments that cover support brackets at various
locations along the pressurization lines. These ice/frost ramps were
partially covered by the PAL ramps and were left exposed after the
ramp was removed.
Work also was completed in the area of the tank's bipod fittings that
connect the external tank to the orbiter through the shuttle's two
forward attachment struts. The electrical harnesses that service the
bipod heaters and temperature sensors were removed and replaced with
improved versions designed to reduce the potential for nitrogen
leakage from the intertank through the cables into the cryogenic
region near the bipod fittings. To prevent nitrogen leakage
underneath the cables, void spaces beneath the cables were eliminated
by using an improved bonding procedure to ensure complete adhesive
coverage.
STS-121's seven astronauts will fly to the space station on the second
mission in the Return to Flight sequence, which started with STS-114.
Discovery's crew will test new equipment and procedures designed to
increase the safety of shuttles, deliver supplies and make repairs to
the space station.
The Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the tank project. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems Co. is the primary contractor for the tank.
For information about the Space Shuttle Program on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
For information about NASA and agency programs ion the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
Headquarters, Washington February 24, 2006
(202) 358-4769
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(256) 544-0034
RELEASE: 06-083
NASA SHIPS EXTERNAL FUEL TANK FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans,
workers at the nearby NASA Michoud Assembly Facility persevered
through their own personal hardships to deliver a newly designed
external fuel tank for the space shuttle.
As a result, the tank that will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery on
its next mission will head to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., this
weekend. The exact time of departure will be determined by real-time
operational conditions.
The huge orange tank designated ET-119, will be loaded on a covered
barge today at Michoud for shipment Saturday. The barge is expected
to take five to six days to travel from the Mississippi River-Gulf of
Mexico Outlet to Florida's Banana River, which flows into the
Atlantic Ocean.
At Kennedy, the tank will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly
Building for final checkout and eventually attached to the twin solid
rocket boosters and Discovery for its mission (STS-121) to the
International Space Station. NASA managers are targeting a launch
window for Discovery in May.
The tank feeds 535,000 gallons of liquid propellants -- hydrogen and
oxygen -- to the shuttle's three main engines, which power it to
orbit. For the first time, the tank will fly without Protuberance Air
Load (PAL) ramps. The ramps were on the tank to protect a cable tray
and two pressurization oxygen and hydrogen lines during the dynamic
portion of launch, which includes liftoff through about the first
three minutes of the climb to orbit. There are two PAL ramps on the
external tank, one at the top of the liquid oxygen portion of the
tank, which is 14 feet long and consists of 14 pounds of foam. The
other is a liquid hydrogen PAL ramp, which is 38 feet long and
contains 21 pounds of foam.
Following last summer's shuttle mission, STS-114, detailed
inspections, engineering analysis and testing were performed on
external tanks at Michoud. As a result, the Space Shuttle Program
determined the PAL ramps were not necessary and it would be a safety
improvement to fly the remaining shuttle missions without the ramps
on the tank.
Wind tunnel testing using the data is scheduled to begin in mid-March
and continue through April to corroborate those conclusions.
Additional work to the tank included minor redesign work on ice/frost
ramps, the foam segments that cover support brackets at various
locations along the pressurization lines. These ice/frost ramps were
partially covered by the PAL ramps and were left exposed after the
ramp was removed.
Work also was completed in the area of the tank's bipod fittings that
connect the external tank to the orbiter through the shuttle's two
forward attachment struts. The electrical harnesses that service the
bipod heaters and temperature sensors were removed and replaced with
improved versions designed to reduce the potential for nitrogen
leakage from the intertank through the cables into the cryogenic
region near the bipod fittings. To prevent nitrogen leakage
underneath the cables, void spaces beneath the cables were eliminated
by using an improved bonding procedure to ensure complete adhesive
coverage.
STS-121's seven astronauts will fly to the space station on the second
mission in the Return to Flight sequence, which started with STS-114.
Discovery's crew will test new equipment and procedures designed to
increase the safety of shuttles, deliver supplies and make repairs to
the space station.
The Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the tank project. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems Co. is the primary contractor for the tank.
For information about the Space Shuttle Program on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
For information about NASA and agency programs ion the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home