NASA Raids Museum for Endeavor Space Shuttle's Spare Parts

First Posted: Aug 20, 2015 07:40 AM EDT

NASA may be cannibalizing museum pieces for space shuttle parts. In order to meet budget goals, NASA is turning to museums to find the parts that it needs for the International Space Station.

When the space shuttle program shut down in 2011, the four remaining spacecraft were sent to museums across the United States. Now, these shuttles are being stripped for their useful parts for future space missions.

It wasn't part of the deal, but we're always happy to work with NASA," said Science Center president Jeff Rudolph in an interview with ZME Science. "The concept of taking something from and old shuttle and making it available for use in space is something that we think is great."

In this case, NASA engineers are working to remove four tanks from the old space shuttle Endeavor for use as potable water storage on the International Space Station. The tanks measure about 3 feet by 1 foot and weight about 40 pounds each while empty. They're from deep inside the orbiter, so museum patrons won't notice that they're actually gone.

This isn't the only shuttle that had its tanks removed. The shuttle Atlantis had its water tanks removed in May for future use on the ISS.

It seems as if even old parts are getting a makeover when it comes to the space agency. Because of the limited budget, NASA is thinking of creative ways to make things work and to successfully complete future space missions.

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TagsNASA, ISS, international space station, Space Shuttle, spaceflight, NASA’s, nasas