Space Shuttle external tank

The Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer and supplies them under pressure to the three space shuttle main engines (SSME) in the orbiter during lift-off and ascent. When the SSMEs are shut down, the ET is jettisoned, enters the Earth's atmosphere, breaks up, and hits the ocean somewhere far from land, usually in the Indian Ocean or Pacific Ocean away from known shipping lanes. It is not recovered. The ET is constructed by Lockheed Martin for NASA at the Michoud Assembly Facility.

Related Topics:
Space Shuttle - Liquid hydrogen - Liquid oxygen - Space shuttle main engine - Orbiter - Indian Ocean - Pacific Ocean - Lockheed Martin - NASA - Michoud Assembly Facility

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