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Photo, Print, Drawing Space Transportation System, External Tank, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX

[ Drawings from Survey HAER TX-116-J  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HAER TX-116-J  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Space Transportation System, External Tank, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX

Names

  • Historic American Engineering Record, creator
  • U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  • U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC)
  • Behrens, Thomas M., photographer
  • Wachtel, John, delineator
  • Klimek, Joseph, delineator
  • Smart GeoMetrics, contractor
  • Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (ACI), contractor
  • U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC), Space Shuttle Program Transition and Retirement Office, sponsor

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1968

Headings

  • -  national space program
  • -  space exploration
  • -  space flight
  • -  man in space
  • -  Shuttle Program
  • -  fuel tanks
  • -  liquid propellant
  • -  Texas--Harris County--Houston

Latitude / Longitude

  • 29.552348,-95.093708

Notes

  • -  Significance: The hydrogen tank, which was the bigger of the two tanks could hold a maximum of about 230,000 pounds of hydrogen or about 390,000 gallons. The smaller oxygen tank, located at the top of the External Tank (ET), could hold about 1,375,000 pounds or 145,000 gallons. During powered flight the ET provided approximately 47,000 gallons per minute of oxygen to all three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) with a 6-to-1 mixture ratio, by weight, of liquid oxygen to liquid hydrogen. In addition to containing and delivering cryogenic propellants to the SSME the ET also served as the structural support for the attachment of the Orbiter and Solid Rocket Boosters. While the STS stack assembly is sitting on the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) the ET transfers the weight of the Orbiter and itself to the Solid Rocker Boosters (SRBs) which are attached to the MLP. At launch and ascent the ET absorbs the thrust loads produced by the SSMEs and the SRBs. Despite its size and structural requirements the aluminum alloy skin of the ET is only one eight of an inch thick in most areas. As with all of the other components of the STS stack assembly, the ET has undergone improvements during the STS operational lifespan. Most notably, was two weight-saving redesigns that made the ETs lighter and stronger. The original version of the ET weighed 76,000 pounds empty. The first redesign, flown on STS-6 was the Lightweight ET which dropped 10,000 pounds from the original ETs. The second redesign, flown on STS-91, was the Super Lightweight ET that dropped an additional 7,500 pounds from the Lightweight tank resulting in a weight of 58,500 pounds. ...
  • -  Survey number: HAER TX-116-J

Medium

  • Measured Drawing(s): 3

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HAER TX-116-J

Source Collection

  • Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • tx1116

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HAER TX-116-J
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

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  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
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  • Data Pages
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If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

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  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
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Access to Originals

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  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, John Wachtel, Joseph Klimek, Contractor Smart Geometrics, Inc Archaeological Consultants, and Space Shuttle Program Transition And Retirement Office U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, Behrens, Thomas M, photographer. Space Transportation System, External Tank, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX. Texas Harris County Houston, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/tx1116/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, C., U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, Wachtel, J., Klimek, J., Smart Geometrics, C. [...] U.S. National Aeronautics And Space Administration, S. S. P. T. A. R. O., Behrens, T. M., photographer. (1968) Space Transportation System, External Tank, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX. Texas Harris County Houston, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/tx1116/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, et al., photographer by Behrens, Thomas M. Space Transportation System, External Tank, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/tx1116/>.