by NASA’s last space shuttle external tank built for flight has finally lifted off, though only for two brief hops over Los Angeles.
In what was originally planned as an overnight move, but was extended to a two-day process due to wind concerns and increased caution, External Tank-94 (ET-94) was lifted and lowered in front and then by two large cranes. between two solid rocket boosters so that, together with the upcoming Endeavor orbiter, the stack will form the world’s only fully authentic vertical space shuttle. The resulting 20-story-tall exhibit will be the centerpiece of the California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Museum when it opens in the coming years.
“With the coupling of ET-94 to solid rocket boosters, we have successfully completed a giant task and the bulk of the space shuttle stack,” Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the Space Shuttle Science Center, said in a statement. California. . “With this penultimate step, we wholeheartedly thank our extraordinary team whose dedication has made every stage of this complex and unprecedented operation a reality.”
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Unable to wait until the new building is completed to move the shuttle (the vehicle is too large), the science center has been proceeding with a multi-part stacking process that is not very different from what was done at the Building of NASA Vehicle Assembly in Florida. but done outdoors, where the components are subject to the elements. To reduce the chance that gusts of wind could cause the 47-meter (154-foot) long orange tank to sway, the team running the “Go for Stack” effort scheduled the lift overnight between Thursday (11 January) and Friday (January 12).
However, even with that caution, winds remained a concern as the scheduled departure approached. A winter storm brought strong gusts to parts of Southern California Thursday morning, and although they gradually subsided into the afternoon, the team was on alert.
Waiting for conditions to become acceptable, two cranes began lifting the 65,000-pound (29,500 kilogram) tank from its horizontal position around 3:00 a.m. PST (1100 GMT or 6:00 a.m. EST). Gradually, the tank was rotated toward the vertical, and then a single large crane raised the ET-94 high enough to clear the partially erected walls of the new air and space center.
The tank was then placed in front of the two 45 m high solid rocket boosters and the surrounding scaffolding, as it was daylight and the winds were beginning to pick up again. The decision was made to take a break, give the team a chance to rest and resume the second and final part of the lift on Friday night.
As he waited again until nightfall, a crane lifted the tank and then slowly lowered it between the twin rockets. A laser projected from below helped guide the tank while workers positioned on the scaffolding stood ready to “gently dock” the ET-94 to each booster using the same attachment points that held the hardware together for a launch.
“ETs and SRBs have eight connection points,” lamented Dennis Jenkins, a veteran NASA space shuttle engineer and project manager for the California Science Center’s Endeavor exhibit, in an interview with CollectSPACE.com. “The two front attachment points are the main structure, one on each side. Then there are three struts on each side, so there are six struts total on the bottom that keep it essentially straight. They don’t actually take much load , but they are the ones that keep the tank aligned with the thrusters.”
“The front points are secured with nuts and bolts. All the struts are attached. The pins are a couple of inches in diameter, so they are large pins,” Jenkins said.
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The stacking of the external tank closed a journey for ET-94 that began with the loss of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. The tank was originally scheduled to launch with Columbia on a science mission, but after the tragedy it became an item test. to improve the design of external tanks still in production and assisted in early studies for the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket.
In 2015, two years after making a brief cameo in the film “GI Joe: Retaliation” as a missile, the ET-94 was awarded to the California Science Center for use in the future Endeavor display. A year later, the tank was loaded onto a barge at the Michoud assembly facility in New Orleans for a five-week, 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometer) voyage that took it to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal.
Unloaded onto a transporter in Marina del Rey, ET-94 embarked on a 19-hour road trip to the California Science Center. There was the tank, positioned next to the pavilion built to house Endeavor, where it was periodically worked on to install hardware and apply new insulation while it waited to be moved into place.
Next up (literally) will be Endeavor. Newly wrapped in shrink wrap to prevent soiling, the winged orbiter will undergo movement, lift and docking similar to that of ET-94 sometime in the coming weeks. Once assembled, the stack will wait to be configured for display as the Oschin Air and Space Center building around and above it is completed.
Click to collect SPACE to see more photos of the lifting of External Tank-94 into place for the future space shuttle Endeavor display.
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