
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Suspended by a 175-ton bridge crane, the orbiter Discovery is lowered next to the new External Tank, ET-121, and Solid Rocket Boosters in high bay 3 for mating. That tank was originally scheduled to fly with Atlantis on the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121. A new heater was added to the tank's feedline bellows, part of the pipeline that carries the liquid oxygen to the orbiter’s main engines, to minimize the potential for ice and frost buildup. After the remate, technicians will work final closeouts on the fully assembled Space Shuttle stack, and perform liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen electrical mates and an interface verification test. Discovery is currently scheduled to return to Launch Pad 39B on June 13.
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NASA ID
05pd1250
Date Created
June 7, 2005
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NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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