"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
12/30/2013 at 17:17 • Filed to: None
2
7|
"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
12/30/2013 at 17:17 • Filed to: None | 2
| 7 |
This counts, right?
Bad Idea Hat
> Jayhawk Jake
12/30/2013 at 17:19 |
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Dat white tank.
HammerheadFistpunch
> Jayhawk Jake
12/30/2013 at 17:20 |
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Ah, the old MMC white tank.
My dad worked at Hercules in the 80's when they were building the tank and solid boosters. Years later, my good friend worked at ATK with the same shuttle people right up until the shuttle's retirement. good times.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Bad Idea Hat
12/30/2013 at 17:28 |
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Sort of a funny story behind that. NASA thought the tank would be damaged by sitting outside prior to launch so they painted it white for the first two missions. Then they realized that it was fine unpainted, so they stopped painting them. Saved 600 pounds and likely a ton of money.
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Bad Idea Hat
> Jayhawk Jake
12/30/2013 at 17:29 |
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Yep. I still don't understand why they never tested that before they actually did it.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> Jayhawk Jake
12/30/2013 at 17:38 |
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MMC is really corrosion resistant, seems like they should have known that.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Bad Idea Hat
12/30/2013 at 18:07 |
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Who knows, companies/government agencies do dumb things from time to time.
At the Kansas Aviation Museum we have a KC-135 on display thanks to stupidity on Boeing's part. They tried a new fuel sealant in the fuel tanks, and it was eaten by the fuel. This contaminated the fuel, damaged the fuel tanks, and destroyed the engines. Now the plane sits at the museum never to fly again.
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Jayhawk Jake
> HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2013 at 18:08 |
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Or that they at least would have just built a small model and tested it for UV effects.