Perched 153ft above the ground a Nasa technician prepares the liquid oxygen tank on the US space shuttle Discovery. Today's launch was scrubbed after a faulty fuel valve was detectedFrom The Daily Mail:
Next time you find yourself tapping your foot impatiently as you fill up your car with petrol spare a thought for Nasa engineers.
They have the task of filling the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank with nearly two million litres of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. The process takes the best part of a day and leaves Nasa with a hefty energy bill.
The liquid oxygen is stored in the top of the nose cone while the liquid hydrogen makes up the bottom half of the tank. They are fed through to the three main engines at an impressive speed, with oxygen pumping through at 80,000 litres a minute and hydrogen at 215,000litres a minute.
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