Workers at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have transferred
External Tank 120 — the Space Shuttle External Tank slated for the launch
of the orbiter Discovery next spring — into the facility’s vehicle assembly
building. The tank is erected vertically so that foam insulation can be
applied on the liquid hydrogen tank-to-intertank flange area, a tank
structural connection point.
The foam will be applied with an enhanced finishing procedure that requires two technicians, a new mold-injection procedure to the intertank’s ribbing and real-time videotaped surveillance
of the process. The foam was removed from all existing tanks when the
intertank area was identified as a potential debris-shedding source
following the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew on Feb. 1,
2003.
The move — a major step toward returning the Space Shuttle to flight
— brings the tank one step closer to its eventual transfer to the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
Photos: http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news/news/photos/2004/photos04-232.html
