Image above: Space shuttle external tank ET-119 rolls out at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans to begin its four-to-five-day sea journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. ET-119 will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery on its next mission, STS-121. Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA's fuel tank for next Shuttle launch arrives at Kennedy

Launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 is still targeted for May, NASA officials said Tuesday afternoon during a space shuttle program update.

Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach, and STS-114 External Tank Tiger Team Lead Tim Wilson gathered at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the briefing.

Hale reviewed the steps taken to make the vehicle's orange external fuel tank safe to fly on the next return-to-flight mission, including elimination of the Protuberance Air Load (PAL) ramp, where a large piece of foam came loose during the July 2005 launch of STS-114. Tank ET-119, which will help propel Discovery into orbit on the upcoming flight, is due to arrive by barge at Kennedy Wednesday afternoon after a five-day journey from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the massive tanks are manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

NASA is still working to verify that changes to the tank's design will result in a safer launch. Upcoming wind tunnel tests are expected to offer important engineering data that will help determine the feasibility of a May launch.

"The thing that is going to pace getting Discovery off the ground is not work at [Kennedy]," Hale said. "But it is the engineering analysis and tests that go toward proving that this launch vehicle is safe to fly."

In the meantime, shuttle processing continues at Kennedy. "The team here at KSC is very focused on what we do," said Leinbach. "We're anxious to get the tank here. The two solid rocket boosters are fully mated and are going through closeouts now, so the boosters are going to be ready for the tank after it goes through standalone processing in the Vehicle Assembly Building. So we're just really glad to get another piece of flight hardware here, and we'll be one step closer to launch."

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