Freedom Star tows a barge containing the third Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank into Port Canaveral.

Freedom Star, one of NASA's two solid rocket booster recovery ships, tows a barge containing the third Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank (SLWT) into Port Canaveral. This SLWT will be used to launch the orbiter Discovery on mission STS-95 in October. This first-time towing arrangement, part of a cost savings plan by NASA to prudently manage existing resources, began June 12 from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the Shuttle's external tanks are manufactured. The barge will now be transported up the Banana River to the LC-39 turn basin using a conventional tugboat. Previously, NASA relied on an outside contractor to provide external tank towing services at a cost of about $120,000 per trip. The new plan allows NASA's Space Flight Operations contractor, United Space Alliance (USA), to provide the same service directly to NASA using the recovery ships during their downtime between Shuttle launches. Studies show a potential savings of about $50,000 per trip. The cost of the necessary ship modifications should be paid back by the fourteenth tank delivery. The other recovery ship, Liberty Star, has also undergone deck strengthening enhancements and will soon have the necessary towing winch installed