NASA To Ship Fuel Tank For Last Planned Shuttle Flight

[ErnstBlofeld]

Space Travel via SPX:

The external fuel tank that will power the last planned space shuttle into orbit will be shipped Tuesday to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank has been restored to flight configuration at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The tank, designated ET-122, will support shuttle Endeavour's flight targeted for launch in February.

At Michoud, ET-122 was rolled out to an enclosed barge, which will carry the tank 900 miles to Kennedy Space Center during a five to six-day sea journey. ET-122 is expected to arrive at Kennedy Sunday, Sept. 26.

During the hurricane, the roof of the building that housed the tank was ripped off by high winds. After falling debris damaged the tank, it was removed from the shuttle flight manifest. Lockheed Martin engineers assessed the damage, and prepared and executed a tank restoration plan.

Edited September 23, 2010 by Rheo
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