Discovery's New Fuel Tank Passes With Flying Colors

First test of redesign after 2003 disaster
By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2008 3:33 AM CDT
Discovery's New Fuel Tank Passes With Flying Colors
Discovery lifts off at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.   (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

The Discovery shuttle launch Saturday marked the first use of a new fuel tank designed after flaws led to the 2003 Columbia disaster, Space.com reports, and tests yesterday showed the new design to be successful. The external tank, designed to minimize the release of falling debris  during launch, shed a few pieces of foam, but "performed in a magnificent fashion," said a NASA mission manager. (More NASA stories.)

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