External Fuel Tank Space Station

	A tempting way to make a truly affordable space station is through recycling of the external tank of the Space Shuttle.  On every flight, the external tank rides with the orbiter almost all the way into space.  The orbiter makes a special maneuver to guarantee the tank crashes back to Earth at specific locations, either offshore of Hawaii or in the Indian Ocean.

	The external tank could be allowed to continue into orbit, where it would provide two already-built pressure-tight shells. The hydrogen tank is 27.5 feet wide -- wider than the average home's living room -- and 96 feet long.  Its volume of 53,500 cubic feet is double that in the proposed NASA Space Station Freedom.

	Because atmospheric drag would pull down an external tank after a month in orbit, it must carry some small booster rockets to push it up to a more stable altitude.  Then solar panels could be bolted on, and life support equipment installed, to make it into a low-cost habitat.

	The External Tanks Corp. of Boulder, Colo., has plans to do just that.  It has an agreement with NASA that gives it the rights to five external tanks in orbit.  It is searching for customers and financiers to turn the plan into reality.

	Another company, Global Outpost of Alexandria, Va., also has plans for the external tanks.  Global Outpost initially would use them as unmanned facilities, such as orbital warehouses or fuel depots.  Global Outpost also has an agreement with NASA, and is looking for customers and financial backers as well.