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[i]"So we had all three parts of the ground vibration test article from the first external tank there on the facility," he explained. "The hydrogen tank and the oxygen tank were stored out in the parking lot south of 103, right in the direct path of the tornado. They were sitting in cradles. The intertank [was] inside of the building since we're using it to help develop the foam spraying techniques for the SLS intertank. So the tank was in three pieces as it has been for quite a long time now." "The hydrogen tank flew directly towards the building, towards 103. The oxygen tank that was sitting next to it flew in exactly the opposite direction out towards the levee," Mr. Doering explained. "And they both basically exploded, we believe, because of the pressure drop and because of the orifices in the tank, the holes in the tank weren't large enough for it to vent that quickly. So the LOX tank is out in the field in thousands of pieces." "The hydrogen tank as it came from the other direction, the two domes blew off – the two ends 'blew off'," he continued. "Now you're left with a very poor (structure) – like a cardboard tube in a paper towel roll. It rolled over a car, completely flattened it, (and) hit the utility tray that runs along the back of 103. That I believe is where the gas leak was, because the gas lines run in a utility tray. "(It then) flew over the utility tray and came to rest completely crumpled up as you saw in the pictures underneath another utility tray. And its domes were shredded – they're all over the place in the general area."[/i]
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