Space Shuttle External Tank
It contains the propellants used by the space shuttle main engines.
Space shuttle external tank. The external tank is released from the space shuttle orbiter the first launch of the space shuttle occurred on 12 april 1981 exactly 20 years after the first crewed space flight when the orbiter columbia with two crew members astronauts john w. Many people know it s there but few know how it got there or why it s even still there. Crippen pilot lifted off from pad a launch complex 39 at.
During flight when the shuttle main engines cut off at an altitude of about 370 000 feet or about 70 miles above the atlantic ocean and about eight minutes 30 seconds into flight the tank separated from the orbiter. The external tank or et is the gas tank for the orbiter. Ever wondered how the space shuttle orbiter gets attached to the big external tank and the solid rocket boosters.
External tank the external tank contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer and supplies them under pressure to the three space shuttle main engines in the orbiter during lift off and ascent. The external tank weighed 1 6 million pounds at space shuttle liftoff equal to the weight of 32 000 elementary school children. Hand held camera footage of space shuttle endeavour s external tank captured by the orbiter s sts 134 crew as the et falls away from the orbiter at main engi.
Sts 124 external tank handheld video nasa tv. Young commander and robert l. The space shuttle external tank et was the component of the space shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer.
The et was jettisoned just over 10 seconds after main engine cut off meco and it re entered the earth s atmosphere. An external tank falls back to earth after being jettisoned from the shuttle. Johnchapman nasa s external tank project manager at the marshall space flightcenter msfc in huntsville alabama said the white paint was initially addedto protect shuttle fuel tanks from the.
When the ssmes are shut down the et is jettisoned enters the earth s atmosphere breaks up and impacts in a remote ocean area. During lift off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three rs 25 main engines in the orbiter. Space shuttle external fuel tank the fuel pod has been deemed too large to be transported through the road system sitting out near the docks of green cove springs is a full scale model of one of the space shuttle s external fuel tanks.