Blue External Tank (Shuttle)

[mstar218]

<p>Hi,</p><p>do I remember&nbsp;that right that in the beginning of the shuttle program (challenger times) some external tanks were blue? I started looking around on the web but can't find any pictures ... it's driving me nuts though.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#003366">It's better to be a Pirate than to join the Navy</font> <em>~ Steve Jobs</em> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi,do I remember&nbsp;that right that in the beginning of the shuttle program (challenger times) some external tanks were blue? I started looking around on the web but can't find any pictures ... it's driving me nuts though. <br />Posted by mstar218</DIV><br /><br />I only remember white; but I'm sure others will know for sure. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><font color="#ff0000">I only remember white; but I'm sure others will know for sure. <br /> Posted by MeteorWayne</font></DIV></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Hi Wayne,</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>The White Tank was only used on STS-1 & STS-2, both Columbia obviously.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong> From STS-3 onwards, it has been lleft unpainted, resulting in the default orange of the external skin.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>272 Kg was saved by not painting the ET white.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Andrew Brown. </strong></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[newsartist]

<p>Back before there was a Shuttle, some artist's concepts had a blue tank if I recall right.</p><p>The Apollo lander was blue in a lot of artwork too, before it was ever built. (See the pre-hardware National Geographic stories, for examples?)</p><p>That forced the viewer's eye to the opposite color, the orange of the flame to stress the action.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[moonmadness]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi Wayne,The White Tank was only used on STS-1 & STS-2, both Columbia obviously. From STS-3 onwards, it has been lleft unpainted, resulting in the default orange of the external skin.272 Kg was saved by not painting the ET white.Andrew Brown. <br />Posted by 3488</DIV></p><p>272 kg.?????</p><p>There has to more to&nbsp;it than that.&nbsp;</p><p>Always wondered why they did that.</p><p>Thought the shuttle looked a lot better with a white ET.</p><p>then after the Columbia destruction I was wondering how paint would affect foam retention.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>I'm not a rocket scientist, but I do play one on the TV in my mind.</p> </div>

 

[lampblack]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>272 kg.?????There has to more to&nbsp;it than that.&nbsp;Always wondered why they did that.Thought the shuttle looked a lot better with a white ET.then after the Columbia destruction I was wondering how paint would affect foam retention.&nbsp; <br /> Posted by moonmadness</DIV></p><p><font size="2">No... I remember the news accounts at the time. Reporters asked NASA why they were planning to launch shuttles with those ugly orange tanks. The reply was that they were simply leaving the tanks unpainted to save weight.</font></p><p><font size="2">I remember thinking at the time that the orange was indeed ugly. But it grows on you over time. &nbsp; </font></p><p><font size="2">In other threads, folks who would know have said that painting the tanks would have no positive effect on foam retention.</font></p><p><font size="2">&nbsp;</font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>272 kg.?????There has to more to&nbsp;it than that.&nbsp;Always wondered why they did that.Thought the shuttle looked a lot better with a white ET.then after the Columbia destruction I was wondering how paint would affect foam retention.&nbsp; <br />Posted by moonmadness</DIV><br /><br />When you look at the launch cost per kg, it makes sense...and rememeber that 272 kg saved could be a spare pump, or gallons of water, or propellant. Every kg not needed for the vehicle is more payload available. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[rybanis]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>When you look at the launch cost per kg, it makes sense...and rememeber that 272 kg saved could be a spare pump, or gallons of water, or propellant. Every kg not needed for the vehicle is more payload available. <br /> Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Makes one wonder how strange the Saturn V would look like without the painted insulation. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[shuttle_guy]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;Makes one wonder how strange the Saturn V would look like without the painted insulation. <br />Posted by rybanis</DIV></p><p>The Saturn Five had a lot of performance margin so the bare foam was not important. The only external foam was on the second and third stage Liquid hydrogen tanks.</p><p>When we had to do foam repairs we did not paint the foam which was on the sea side (the side the press site could not see).</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>No... I remember the news accounts at the time. Reporters asked NASA why they were planning to launch shuttles with those ugly orange tanks. The reply was that they were simply leaving the tanks unpainted to save weight.<br /> Posted by lampblack</DIV></p><p>Nah, it was done to match the flight suits <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /> </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Wanna see this site looking like the old SDC uplink?</p><p>Go here to see how: <strong>SDC Eye saver </strong>  </p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<p>*laughs*</p><p>Of course, it only matched the flight suits for two missions (STS-3 and STS-4) before they declared the Shuttle operational, ditched the pressure suits, and started going up in blue jumpsuits.&nbsp; The blue jumpsuits lasted until STS-51L, and then got new, even oranger suits from STS-26 through the present day. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>