space shuttle

[dustypuss]

would it be possible to take the empty external fuel tank into orbit and use it to build a space station it seams silly just to dump it when they got it so far surely it shouldn't take much more fuel

[stevie21]

If it was practical & economical to do so then they'd be doing it already.
The fuel tank is designed for just one thing : storing fuel. If it was also made capable of being converted into a lego piece of a space station it'd be more expensive and heavier.

[mibn2cweus]

Although it would be easier and less expensive to carry the tank to the ISS than to dump it the Indian Ocean, making it useful and outfitting it in space is not considered to be economical nor practical and preparing it for such use prior to launch has been deemed an unjustifiable risk to the safety of the shuttle launch system.


Used tanks are free to anyone able to take delivery of and responsibility for their safe use in space without jeopardizing a space shuttle mission.

more information resources here