KSC-05pd-0046

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The newly redesigned External Tank wends its way through the parking area at the Launch Complex 39 Area Turn Basin on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building, seen behind it. The tank arrived Jan. 5 after a 900-mile sea voyage aboard NASA’s specially designed barge, Pegasus, from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. In the transfer aisle of the VAB, the tank will be raised from a horizontal to a vertical position, then lifted high up into a storage cell, or “checkout cell,” where it will undergo inspections of the mechanical, electrical and thermal protection systems. New processing activities resulting from re-design of the tank include inspection of the bipod heater and External Tank separation camera, which includes charging the camera batteries. The tank will be then prepared for mating to the Solid Rocket Boosters. When preparations are complete, the tank will be lifted from the checkout cell, moved across the transfer aisle and into High Bay 1, where it will be lowered and attached to the boosters, which are sitting on the Mobile Launch Platform. The tank is designated for the Return to Flight mission, STS-114, targeted for a launch opportunity beginning in May. The seven-member Discovery crew will fly to the International Space Station primarily to test and evaluate new procedures for flight safety, including Space Shuttle inspection and repair techniques.