tedlistens writes “The last Space Shuttle’s external tank was recently lifted into a ‘checkout cell’ in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the largest buildings in the world. The completion of the last tank meant the shut down of the assembly line – and the 800 remaining people who worked on it – at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The tank contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen that, along with the solid rocket boosters, powers the Shuttle into orbit. Though they are not typically reused — ten seconds after the engines cut off, the tank falls away to break up over the Indian Ocean, away from known shipping lanes — one new plan imagines using old shuttle parts, including pieces of the tank, to build a new moon rocket. There’s a beautiful video of the lifting of the tank at Motherboard.”

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Originally posted here:
Final Space Shuttle External Tank Ready For Its Closeup