NASA Outfits Shuttle With New Fuel Tank

May 15, 2006—  NASA hopes a new fuel tank, redesigned to prevent the shedding of foam insulation, will ensure the safety of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its upcoming launch.

The shuttle, which has not flown since July 2005, emerged from its processing hangar at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday and was taken to a massive assembly building. Over the weekend, workers attached the new fuel tank and a pair of solid fuel rocket boosters. Rollout to the launch pad is slated for Friday.

"I'm ecstatic," said vehicle manager Stephanie Stilson. "This is what the team looks forward to."

NASA plans to launch Discovery in July, ending a 3.5-year, $1.5-billion effort to resume regular shuttle flight service to the International Space Station. NASA suspended launches following the fatal 2003 Columbia accident and again after last year's Discovery launch, the first flight since the disaster.

Before clearing the shuttle for launch, managers must complete the analysis of wind tunnel tests to determine if the new tank design is safe to fly. A decision is expected next month.

Since the Feb. 2003 loss of Columbia and its seven astronauts, NASA has focused on preventing insulating foam from breaking off the tank and striking the shuttle during liftoff. Columbia was hit on its left wing by falling foam debris and destroyed as it attempted to fly through the atmosphere for landing 16 days later. Large pieces of foam also fell off Discovery's tank last year but did not hit the shuttle.

In addition to tank redesigns, technicians have replaced more than 5,000 cloth fillers tucked between the thousands of ceramic tiles lining Discovery's belly. During Discovery's last flight, two fillers slipped out and were removed during an impromptu spacewalk to prevent the ship from overheating during re-entry.

Discovery also has had seven windows replaced and its fuel tank outfitted with new sensors to detect if propellant is running low. NASA suspects a manufacturing flaw in the old sensors could have triggered a dangerous main engine shutdown or failed to register a fuel shortage emergency.

"I know all this seems overwhelming, but we've gotten past it," said NASA's deputy director of shuttle processing Rita Willcoxon. "Hopefully we're on our way to launch."

The shuttle is scheduled to deliver supplies to the space station and drop off a new crew member, who will join the two men already living aboard the outpost. NASA plans to fly about 16 more missions to the station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.