NASA Decides To Modify Discovery's Fuel Tank Brackets | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.14.24

 Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Sat, Aug 25, 2007

NASA Decides To Modify Discovery's Fuel Tank Brackets

Will Replace SLA Foam With Lighter, Less-Shed-Prone Material

Enough already. That's the message from NASA Friday, as the space agency announced its engineers will remove troublesome insulating foam covering mounting brackets for the shuttle Discovery's external tank, and replace it with a material the agency says is less likely to shed during launch.

CNN reports NASA made the decision to remove the foam -- called Super Light-weight Ablative (SLA) -- from the brackets after an extensive X-ray analysis of the tank showed small cracks, that could have led to shedding during Discovery's planned October 23 launch.

NASA ordered the tests after a chunk of SLA foam broke off a tank bracket during the August 8 launch of Endeavour, bounced off another bracket and struck the underside of the orbiter.

The work on the tank will take about nine days, according to the agency, and shouldn't affect Discovery's launch.

NASA will use an modified tank -- sporting titanium brackets, which won't require any insulating foam covering -- on shuttle launches by the end of 2008.

FMI: www.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: Remembering Bob Hoover

From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]

ANN FAQ: Follow Us On Instagram!

Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.15.24)

Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.15.24):Altimeter Setting

Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.16.24)

"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 05.17.24: Hummingbird 'Best', Cavorite Flies, Starliner Update

Airborne Affordable Flyers 05.16.24: PRA Runway, Wag-Aero Sold, Young Eagles

Airborne 05.15.24: Ghost Sq MidAir, B-2 Junked, Dream Chaser Readies

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC