In preparation for the launch of Discovery on mission STS-120,
the external tank's liquid oxygen feedline brackets were reinsulated with foam.
External tank technicians traveled from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans,
where the tanks are made, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conduct the work.
Inside the giant Vehicle Assembly Building, the technicians carefully removed
the foam and underlying cork insulation from the brackets.
The work was necessary when cracks in the underlying cork insulation
were discovered on the brackets during X-ray inspections.
The inspections were prompted when foam lost from the same area struck
Endeavour during its launch on mission STS-118 in August.
The technicians reapplied the lightweight foam to the brackets without the
underlying cork insulation to complete the corrective process.
With the work finished, the external tank was joined to the twin solid rocket boosters,
and preparations for Discovery's launch on mission STS-120 moved forward.