KSC-99pp0199
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An external tank is suspended in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building before being placed into its storage compartment. The largest and heaviest element of the Space Shuttle, an external tank contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer for the three Space Shuttle main engines (SSMEs) in the orbiter during liftoff and ascent. When the SSMEs are shut down, the external tank is jettisoned, breaking up as it enters the Earth's atmopshere and impacting in a remote ocean area. It is not recovered
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-99pp0199
Date Created
February 9, 1999
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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