NASA will provide a unique behind-the-scenes look at the ocean journey of a space shuttle external tank from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. ET-134 is set to depart Michoud Oct. 15 on NASA’s Pegasus barge, on a 900-mile sea journey to the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The barge will be towed by NASA’s solid rocket booster retrieval ship, the Liberty Star. On board will be Marshall Space Flight Center public affairs officer Steve Roy, who will blog via the NASA portal several times a day with stories, updates, images and video. NASA television producer Mick Speer of Marshall Television will document this portion of NASA’s maritime operations and life on board the ship during the six-day trip.
Upon its arrival at Kennedy, ET-134 will become the “backbone” of the space shuttle stack and gas tank for space shuttle main engines during the February launch of space shuttle Endeavour’s flight to the International Space Station. The external tank is 153.8 feet long, 27.6 feet in diameter and weighs approximately 58,500 pounds.
Follow the journey through the blog at http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/sailing_with_nasa/posts/post_1255450289524.html
