SPACE.com -- Shuttle Engineers to Fit Discovery to New External Tank

Community

The space shuttle Discovery hangs in a sling during stacking operations in March, when the orbiter was mated to its external tank and boosters. Discovery has since been demated from the launch and reattached to a different external tank for the STS-114 mission. Credit: NASA/KSC. Click to enlarge.

Shuttle Discovery's External Tank Swap Going Well

Discovery Shuttle May Roll Back to Pad Early, NASA Says

Wide Load: Hauling Discovery One Crawl at a Time

Space Shuttle Discovery Back Inside Hangar

	Starry Night ™ Enthusiast Version 5.0
For the adventurous at heart, 2.5 million stars are yours to explore. Go anywhere you want, see anything you want!


	Shuttle Engineers to Fit Discovery to New External Tank By John Kelly FLORIDA TODAY posted: 6 June 2005 10:27 a.m. ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center workers are preparing this morning to outfit shuttle Discovery with a new fuel tank.

Discovery is resting this morning in the center aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, awaiting a lift from a monstrous overhead crane.

Crane workers will hoist Discovery into position to mount the spaceship to a new stack of external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

The operation is expected to take most of the day once it begins. Discovery remains scheduled to return to the launch pad in a week for a launch no earlier than July 13.

Discovery was brought back to the VAB to be mounted to a new tank, which has been modified to solve issues related to ice debris and a problematic fuel valve.

Fixing NASA: Complete Coverage of Space Shuttle Return to Flight

	BP There’s energy security in energy diversity.

	One-stop destination for the lowest domestic airfares Search all airlines, including Southwest now!

	HP ProLiant Servers The HP portfolio of servers-leading technology that respects the bottom line. Powerful ProLiant technology at a price that's worth a second look.