WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The Space Shuttle's second lightweight external tank arrives at Kennedy Space Center and is moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building after removal from the barge by which it was delivered to the Launch Complex 39 Turn Basin. This external tank is slated for use on the STS-88 launch, the first International Space Station assembly flight. The improved tank is about 7,000 pounds lighter than its predecessors and was developed to increase the Shuttle payload capacity on International Space Station assembly flights. The tank was sent from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.