Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The Shuttle Crawler Transporter Credit: KSC, NASA Explanation: NASA's Crawler-Transporters are the largest tracked vehicles in existence. Although the crawlers pack over 5,000 horsepower, their top speed is less than two kilometers per hour when fully loaded. Eleven people are needed to drive a single crawler. Diesel fuel mileage is about 350 liters per kilometer (less than 0.007 miles per gallon). The crawler's function is to move NASA's space shuttles -- complete with launch platforms -- from the Assembly Building to the Launch Pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Two of these massive machines have operated since the Apollo era and have now crawled over 4,000 kilometers, all the while keeping their contents perfectly upright. In this picture a crawler transports the shuttle Columbia to the pad prior to its March 1st launch on the latest Hubble Space Telelescope Servicing Mission. Were you aware that the crawlers are equipped with seat belts? All government vehicles require them…
I had an uncle who was an engineer at NASA during the sixties, and I was often privileged to be at "insider" locations on what was then Cape Kennedy. One of the most awesome moments I experienced as a kid was being at the Vehicle Assembly Building when a Saturn V rolled out on the crawler. Pictures do not do justice to the size and complexity of these machines. They are incredible -- thanks for the memory! Peace.
I'd hate to be run over by one of those things. Plus you'd have to wait a really long time for it to get to you if you were paralyzed [with fear] or something in its path. Yeah, that would be scary.
I can remember seeing it up close also, Goofyfish. Top speed, 2 mph. plenty of room for a bus under it. The Vehicle Assembly Building is big enough that clouds form inside the building!
Hi, all ... I guess what amazed me the most was that the 'track' it follows from the assembly building to launch pad, and back, is gravel! Bank-run I believe. Thanx for the great pics. Take care Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hey (Q) That second pic is awsome. I hope whoever took it had a good zoom lense. Either that or a scorched ass. excellent
Try parallel parking. By the way, the thing moves slow enough that an extension cord would be practical. You say it gets what, .007 miles to the gallon, well, electricity is cheaper, and it has been used before. There are draglines that were electrically powered. One is still in one piece somewhere in Kansas(I can't remember where the museum is exactly). Save a lot of money.
