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Why did the space shuttle's external fuel tank look like a big orange banana? Why that design, and how come no one makes fun of it (Other than me right now heh heh)? While we're on the subject, what's the history behind this design, was it planned to be that way, or were there other proposals?

called2voyage
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Deko Revinio
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  • I know there were other proposals like the Saturn-Shuttle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn-Shuttle – The Rocket fan Sep 04 '22 at 17:57
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    The two most obvious visual traits of a banana are that it is curved and that it is yellow. I really don't see how the STS ET looks like a banana at all. – Jörg W Mittag Sep 04 '22 at 22:07
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    @JörgWMittag have you never seen a shuttle tank before?!?! the darn thing looks like a straightened out banana! – Deko Revinio Sep 04 '22 at 22:36
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    The two most obvious visual traits of a banana are that it is curved and that it is yellow. The Space Transportation System External Tank is not curved (it is straight) and it is not yellow (the ETs of STS-1 and STS-2 were white, all others orange-ish). In other words, the STS ET has none of the traits that make a banana look like a banana, i.e. it only looks like a banana if you ignore everything that makes a banana look like a banana. By that same argument, it also looks like a horse. – Jörg W Mittag Sep 04 '22 at 22:43
  • Here's a photo of STS-1 on the pad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1#/media/File:Columbia_STS-1_arrival_at_launch_pad.jpg – Jörg W Mittag Sep 04 '22 at 22:49
  • @JörgWMittag have you ever heard of a freaking comedic comparison? I was trying to be funny and bring it down to understandable terms. – Deko Revinio Sep 05 '22 at 03:23
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    is this not just a dupe of https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/2449/why-do-the-shuttles-external-tanks-appear-to-be-rusted?noredirect=1&lq=1 or https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/12671/what-exactly-is-the-orange-insulation-foam-used-on-many-different-launch-vehicle?noredirect=1&lq=1 – Erin Anne Sep 05 '22 at 05:17
  • @ErinAnne I am assuming that this question was more about the shape than the color? – GrapefruitIsAwesome Sep 05 '22 at 10:07
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    @ErinAnne Admittedly those questions don't cover "...how come no one makes fun of it (Other than me right now heh heh)?" or the important fruit-similarity aspects of this inquiry. – Organic Marble Sep 05 '22 at 11:41
  • @JörgWMittag, STS-1 and STS-2 could have looked like peeled bananas ;) – GdD Sep 05 '22 at 18:07
  • @GdD THANK YOU! finnally someone agrees! – Deko Revinio Sep 06 '22 at 16:16
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    I so don't @DekoRevinio. – GdD Sep 06 '22 at 18:54
  • Um... This is not suitable for the site – Starship - On Strike Sep 18 '22 at 17:16
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    I’m voting to close this question because it is a joke. – Starship - On Strike Feb 20 '23 at 16:52

1 Answers1

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The tank's color is that of its insulating foam. (STS-1's and STS-2's tanks were painted white to protect the foam. But the protection turned out not to be needed, so thereafter the paint was omitted to save a few hundred kg.)

Its shape is (as usual) a tradeoff between aerodynamic drag, mass, strength, heat transfer, and cost.

I'm unaware of alternative designs that were rejected.

Camille Goudeseune
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