New Fuel Tank to Allow Space Shuttle Relaunch |
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Written by spacetravel.org
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Tuesday, 26 April 2005 20:15 |
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To prepare for a possible relaunch next month, the space shuttle Discoverys external fuel tank has been redesigned. On April 14, for the first time since the 2003 Columbia explosion, a fuel tank has been filled with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, as part of a dress rehearsal for a future relaunch. Columbias accident was caused by a piece of foam insulation falling off the external tank during launch. Discoverys tank has been redesigned by NASA and Lockheed Martin to reduce the amount of foam that falls away during liftoff.
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