Tanks for the Lift
Explanation:
Sixteen minutes after the liftoff of STS-29,
the
Space Shuttle Discovery's jettisoned
External Tank (ET) is seen here, in a photograph
by shuttle astronaut James P. Bagian, falling back towards Earth.
The 154 foot long ET is the largest non-reusable component in the
Shuttle system. After carrying over 500,000 gallons of
liquid propellant to feed the
shuttle's main engines during liftoff, its ultimate fate
is to re-enter the atmosphere, break up and descend into a remote
ocean area. The side of
this ET shows a normal burn scar caused during
the separation of one of the reusable
solid rocket boosters.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
