KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - External Tank 118 (ET-118) progresses slowly from the Vehicle Assembly Building, in the background, to the barge in the Turn Basin at Launch Complex 39. The tank will be transported to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 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
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - External Tank 118 (ET-118) progresses slowly from the Vehicle Assembly Building, in the background, to the barge in the Turn Basin at Launch Complex 39. The tank will be transported to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 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
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