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filed under | aviation | space
The crawler-transporters are a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport spacecraft from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) along the Crawlerway to Launch Complex 39. They were originally used to transport the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets during the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. They are currently used to transport the Space Shuttle. It is planned for them to carry the upcoming Ares I and Ares V rockets for the Constellation program as well. The crawler-transporters carry vehicles on the Mobile Launcher Platform, and after each launch return to the pad to take the platform back to the VAB. The two crawler-transporters were designed by Bucyrus International and built by Marion Power Shovel using components designed and built by Rockwell International at a cost of US$14 million each. When they were built, they were the largest tracked vehicles in the world. The crawler-transporter weighs 2400 tons 2,700 short tons and has eight tracks, two on each corner. Each track has 57 shoes, and each shoe weighs 1,984 pounds. The vehicle measures 131 feet by 114 feet. The height from ground level to the platform is adjustable from 20 ft to 26 ft, and each side can be raised and lowered independently of the other. The crawler uses a laser guidance system and a leveling system to keep the Mobile Launcher Platform level within 10 minutes of arc, while moving up the 5% grade to the launch site. A separate laser docking system provides pinpoint accuracy when the crawler-transporter and Mobile Launch Platform are positioned in the VAB or at the launch pad. The crawler has 16 traction motors, powered by four 1,341 horsepower generators, in turn driven by two 2,750 horsepower Alco diesel engines. The crawler is controlled from two control cabs located at either end of the vehicle, and travels along the 3.5 miles Crawlerway at a maximum speed of 1 mile per hour loaded, or 2 miles per hour unloaded. The average trip time from the VAB along the Crawlerway to Launch Complex 39 is about five hours. In 2000, NASA unearthed and restored an Apollo-era segment of the crawlerway to provide access to a high-bay building in order to provide protection from a hurricane. Kennedy Space Center has been using the same two crawlers since their initial delivery in 1965. In their lifetime, they have traveled more than 2,500 miles. NASA will continue to use crawlers when the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010 and the Ares I and Ares V take its place. Due to their age and need to support the heavier Ares V, NASA will modify the crawler's engines in order to have the ability to carry the heavier loads envisioned for the Ares V for both its lunar and, later, planetary roles. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
