Abstract
As with the design of the solid rocket boosters, the external tank underwent several changes in configuration before settling upon the shape that was used throughout the program. The initial Orbiter that NASA aspired to would have been fully reusable in all its components.
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- 1.
A psig value does not include the ambient pressure, so at sea level 14.7 psi must be added to the ‘‘gauge pressure” to obtain the absolute pressure.
- 2.
The bipod was canted 0.5 degrees forward when mated to the Orbiter, but cryogenic shrinkage of the ET resulted in an additional 5.5 degrees of forward cant.
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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Sivolella, D. (2014). Shuttle propulsion: the external tank. In: To Orbit and Back Again. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0983-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0983-0_5
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-0982-3
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