3/10/2023 0 Comments Nasa space shuttle endeavour routeThis new tank provided a 6,426-pound reduction in specification weight that further evolved to an actual weight of 65,081 pounds for ET-94. The saved poundage allowed subsequent space shuttle missions to carry an additional 600 pounds of science experiments.Įver striving to lighten the load of the STS to make room for more science payloads, engineers developed the next iteration of external tanks, called lightweight tanks, or LWTs, using weight-shedding techniques including eliminating portions of stringers (structural stiffeners running the length of the hydrogen tank), using fewer stiffener rings, and modifying major frames in the hydrogen tank. Image credit: NASAĪfter the first two STS missions, engineers agreed that the sun's ultraviolet radiation merely caused the insulating foam to change color from its original tan to the familiar dark orange and did not pose a structural risk, so the use of white paint was discontinued. For the first two shuttle missions, engineers painted the external fuel tanks white because of worries about ultraviolet radiation damaging the tanks' insulating foam. STS-1 launches from Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. Space shuttle external tanks carried freezing cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and were the only non-reusable part of what was called the Space Transportation System, or STS. Most people will recognize the external tank as the giant orange structure that was attached to the shuttle to supply fuel to the shuttle's main engines during liftoff. So it presents a different set of navigational challenges – which, coincidentally, make for some great math problems.Īs does this bit of external fuel tank history. Resting on its side, the tank is half the length of a football field. ![]() Though Endeavour is wider, taller and heavier, ET-94 is longer. Los Angeles has some experience with this sort of challenge as the space shuttle orbiter Endeavour traveled a similar route from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center in October 2012. › Watch the full route from New Orleans to Los Angeles taken by the shuttle's external tank On May 18, the tank arrived, and three days later, was towed through the streets of Los Angeles – streets that were not designed to accommodate a giant rocket fuel tank! ![]() In April, ET-94 boarded a barge as usual, but this time traveled west, through the Panama Canal to Marina del Rey in Los Angeles. However, the trip to California is a bit more involved. Shuttle external tanks were routinely transferred from their manufacture and assembly point at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by way of barge. Transporting a large object such as the external tank is no small job. › Larger image | › Interactive Google Map This map shows the 16.5-mile route ET-94 took through Los Angeles to arrive at the California Science Center.
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