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Why use water tanks from a retired Space Shuttle?

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Why use water tanks from a retired Space Shuttle?

Why is the Shuttle Landing Facility runway surrounded by water?Were Space Shuttle External Tanks recoverable and reusable?Did some of the Shuttle fuel tanks actually orbit?Why were four Space Shuttle orbiters initially built?Reusing Tanks and Rocket Engines from just beyond Geosynchronus OrbitIsn't electrolysis of water less efficient for a space craft than pressurized oxygen tanks?Why did the design for Space Shuttle docking change?Why didn't the space shuttle SRBs have wings and tires?Why didn't the SRBs of the Space Shuttle use carbon instead of aluminium?Why didn't the space shuttle use non-foam-shedding external tanks?

10

1

$begingroup$

In 2015, technicians entered the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour to remove the water tanks, with the goal of reusing these tanks on ISS.

Looks like a strange idea to reuse worn equipment as trivial as a water tank that is exhibited in a museum, when whole rockets are built brand new for a typical flight.

Are these tanks somehow special and unusually expensive to make to justify such an idea? If they are just metal cans as I envision, the only reason I could imagine would be a "symbolic meaning".

iss space-shuttle reuse

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  What an intriguing question! I'm sometimes really surprised by what is going on in the aerospace sector. This is such a nice bit of information. I hope you'll get a satisfactory answer.
  $endgroup$
  – Polygnome
  11 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

10

1

$begingroup$

In 2015, technicians entered the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour to remove the water tanks, with the goal of reusing these tanks on ISS.

Looks like a strange idea to reuse worn equipment as trivial as a water tank that is exhibited in a museum, when whole rockets are built brand new for a typical flight.

Are these tanks somehow special and unusually expensive to make to justify such an idea? If they are just metal cans as I envision, the only reason I could imagine would be a "symbolic meaning".

iss space-shuttle reuse

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  What an intriguing question! I'm sometimes really surprised by what is going on in the aerospace sector. This is such a nice bit of information. I hope you'll get a satisfactory answer.
  $endgroup$
  – Polygnome
  11 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

In 2015, technicians entered the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour to remove the water tanks, with the goal of reusing these tanks on ISS.

Looks like a strange idea to reuse worn equipment as trivial as a water tank that is exhibited in a museum, when whole rockets are built brand new for a typical flight.

Are these tanks somehow special and unusually expensive to make to justify such an idea? If they are just metal cans as I envision, the only reason I could imagine would be a "symbolic meaning".

iss space-shuttle reuse

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

$endgroup$

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

edited 1 hour ago

Mark Omo

3,63512342

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

asked 12 hours ago

h22h22

416411

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

11

$begingroup$

They're already made, have plenty of usable life left, were stored in a way that facilitates reuse, and apparently cost less than building and certifying brand new ones.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/proposed-station-water-system-looks-to-retired-shuttles

In order to reduce the cost and complexity of the proposed system, NASA engineers looked at reusing the water tanks from shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour. The tanks meet the station’s stringent requirements for potable water quality, while preventing the accumulation of free gas. The shuttle water tanks were designed to support 100 missions each. Approximately 70 percent of design life remains in the Atlantis tanks based on 33 total missions flown, while Endeavour’s tanks were used on 25 missions, leaving an estimated 75 percent of design life.

Personnel at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carefully preserved the water tanks from the retired shuttles with pressurized dry nitrogen to maintain cleanliness and minimize unintentional fatigue of moving parts. As a result, minimal preparation and processing activities would be required to ready the tanks for integration into the proposed storage system.

share|improve this answer

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

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11

$begingroup$

They're already made, have plenty of usable life left, were stored in a way that facilitates reuse, and apparently cost less than building and certifying brand new ones.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/proposed-station-water-system-looks-to-retired-shuttles

In order to reduce the cost and complexity of the proposed system, NASA engineers looked at reusing the water tanks from shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour. The tanks meet the station’s stringent requirements for potable water quality, while preventing the accumulation of free gas. The shuttle water tanks were designed to support 100 missions each. Approximately 70 percent of design life remains in the Atlantis tanks based on 33 total missions flown, while Endeavour’s tanks were used on 25 missions, leaving an estimated 75 percent of design life.

Personnel at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carefully preserved the water tanks from the retired shuttles with pressurized dry nitrogen to maintain cleanliness and minimize unintentional fatigue of moving parts. As a result, minimal preparation and processing activities would be required to ready the tanks for integration into the proposed storage system.

share|improve this answer

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

11

$begingroup$

They're already made, have plenty of usable life left, were stored in a way that facilitates reuse, and apparently cost less than building and certifying brand new ones.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/proposed-station-water-system-looks-to-retired-shuttles

In order to reduce the cost and complexity of the proposed system, NASA engineers looked at reusing the water tanks from shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour. The tanks meet the station’s stringent requirements for potable water quality, while preventing the accumulation of free gas. The shuttle water tanks were designed to support 100 missions each. Approximately 70 percent of design life remains in the Atlantis tanks based on 33 total missions flown, while Endeavour’s tanks were used on 25 missions, leaving an estimated 75 percent of design life.

Personnel at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carefully preserved the water tanks from the retired shuttles with pressurized dry nitrogen to maintain cleanliness and minimize unintentional fatigue of moving parts. As a result, minimal preparation and processing activities would be required to ready the tanks for integration into the proposed storage system.

share|improve this answer

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

They're already made, have plenty of usable life left, were stored in a way that facilitates reuse, and apparently cost less than building and certifying brand new ones.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/proposed-station-water-system-looks-to-retired-shuttles

In order to reduce the cost and complexity of the proposed system, NASA engineers looked at reusing the water tanks from shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour. The tanks meet the station’s stringent requirements for potable water quality, while preventing the accumulation of free gas. The shuttle water tanks were designed to support 100 missions each. Approximately 70 percent of design life remains in the Atlantis tanks based on 33 total missions flown, while Endeavour’s tanks were used on 25 missions, leaving an estimated 75 percent of design life.

Personnel at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carefully preserved the water tanks from the retired shuttles with pressurized dry nitrogen to maintain cleanliness and minimize unintentional fatigue of moving parts. As a result, minimal preparation and processing activities would be required to ready the tanks for integration into the proposed storage system.

share|improve this answer

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679

answered 11 hours ago

ceejayozceejayoz

72679