Why did NASA change the color of the fuel tank?

Question

Originally the large external fuel tank on shuttle missions was white....They are all orange now anyone know why?

Answer 1

The early ones were painted white to "look good."  After a while NASA figured they could save money, time, and even weight, by not painting them.  The orange is the color of the insulation.

Answer 2

That is so everyone thinks that they have just eaten at a Howard Johnsons'....

Answer 3

Money, the extra weight took up too much weight and required extra fuel.

Answer 4

i dont know they probably just felt like it there is no actal reason for them to really do that but they just decide to i guess maybe it is a collar that wont be affected by radiation as much as other colors such as black or brown

Answer 5

Originally the center tank was painted white to match the rest of the orbital structure.

It was determined not to put the extra coat of white paint on to save weight. This leaves the familiar rust-colored undercoating showing.

Answer 6

The tank had foam on it to prevent ice build up, after the last shuttle accident where the foam fell off and damaged the wing,  they added a special coating to help keep the foam from falling off.

Answer 7

They were changed to orange to make them easier to track by television and video camera operators further down field. They also stand out on TV monitors.

Answer 8

They removed the paint for saving weight and because it did not improve the stability of the tank coating at all. Initially it was white for reducing the boil-off inside the tanks, but it was not having the desired effect... launching without it and just refill a bit more before launch was more effective.

Answer 9

The External Tank was indeed painted white on very early Space Shuttle flights. This paint job was only added to make the tank look better and was discontinued after the first two missions. By eliminating the paint, NASA was able to save money and shed about 1,000 lb (455 kg) of weight, translating into improved payload performance.