KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Turn Basin in Launch Complex 39, External Tank 118 (ET-118) makes its way into the barge that will transport it to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. It had been stored in the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background. The tank is being installed with an improved bipod fitting, which connects the external fuel tank to the Shuttle during launch. The new design, a significant milestone in the effort to return the Shuttle to safe flight, replaces the foam that was used to prevent ice buildup on the tank’s bipod fittings with four rod-shaped heat
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Turn Basin in Launch Complex 39, External Tank 118 (ET-118) makes its way into the barge that will transport it to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. It had been stored in the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background. The tank is being installed with an improved bipod fitting, which connects the external fuel tank to the Shuttle during launch. The new design, a significant milestone in the effort to return the Shuttle to safe flight, replaces the foam that was used to prevent ice buildup on the tank’s bipod fittings with four rod-shaped heaters. The heaters are being retrofitted on the 11 existing tanks and incorporated into the manufacture of all new tanks.
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Photo credit: © NASA/piemags / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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