WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The external tank (ET) for STS-27 arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) today via ocean going barge and was moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where preparations will soon begin to ready it for the second return flight launch of the Space Shuttle. The tank is 154 feet long, 27.5 feet in diameter, and holds a total of 1,585,379 pounds of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel - fuel which is used by the orbiter's main engines during launch. The empty burnt orange colored tank weighs 1,667,677 pounds and is the only piece of flight hardware not recovered for reuse.