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Crawler-Transporter #2 in a December 2004 road test after track shoe replacement.

The Crawler-Transporter is a tracked vehicle used to transport the Saturn V rocket, and now the Space Shuttle, from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad.

The Crawler-Transporter, built by the Marion Power Shovel Co. at a cost of $14 million, was once the largest tracked vehicle in the world; it has since been surpassed by the Bagger 288 German excavator. It has eight tracks, two on each corner; each track has 57 shoes, and each shoe weighs about one short ton. It measures 131 ft by 114 ft (40 m by 35 m); the height from ground level to the platform is adjustable from 20 to 26 ft (6 to 8 m). The transporter weighs 6 million pounds (2,700 t).

It is powered by 16 traction motors, powered by four 1,000 kW generators, driven by two 2,750 hp (2050 kW) diesel engines. Two 750 kW generators, driven by two 1,065 hp (794 kW) engines, are used for jacking, steering, lighting, and ventilating. Two 150 kW generators are also available to power the Mobile Launcher Platform. The crawler consumes 150 US gallons of diesel fuel per mile (350 L/km); its tanks hold 5,000 US gallons (19 m³).

File:Crawler and Atlantis.jpg

A Crawler-Transporter ferrying Space Shuttle Atlantis to launch pad 39-A for the STS-98 mission.

The maximum speed of the Crawler-Transporter is about one mile per hour (1.6 km/h) loaded, or two miles per hour (3 km/h) unloaded; average trip time from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad is between five and eight hours. Pad A is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the VAB, Pad B is 4 miles (6.4 km). It is controlled from two control cabs located at either end of the vehicle.

In order to keep the rocket from toppling over, the tip is kept vertical within plus or minus 10 minutes of arc, or about the diameter of a basketball. Leveling systems within the crawler also keep the platform level while negotiating the 5% ramp leading up to the pad surface. The crawler travels along a "road" which had to be specially packed to withstand the forces put on it.

Kennedy Space Center has been using the same two crawlers since their initial delivery; the pair are named Hans and Franz. In their lifetime they have travelled some 2,500 miles (4,000 km) or more.

File:Crawler.jpg

Shuttle transporter crawler with Columbia

Sources

Crawler-Transporter System

External links

Apollo Maniacs: Crawler Transporter
Kennedy Space Center Crawler/Transporter Model, a LEGO reconstruction of the crawler

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 The '''Crawler-Transporter''' is a [[Caterpillar track|tracked]] [[vehicle]] used to transport the [[Saturn V]] [[rocket]], and now the [[Space Shuttle]], from [[NASA]]'s [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] to the [[launchpad]].
-The Crawler-Transporter, built by the Marion Power Shovel Co. at a cost of [[USD|$]]14 million, was once the largest tracked vehicle in the world; it has since been surpassed by the [[Bagger 288]] German [[excavator]]. It has eight tracks, two on each corner; each track has 57 shoes, and each shoe weighs about one ton. It measures 131 ft by 114 ft (40 m by 35 m); the height from ground level to the platform is adjustable from 20 to 26 ft (6 to 8 m). The transporter weights 6 million pounds (2721 [[Tonne|t]]).
+The Crawler-Transporter, built by the Marion Power Shovel Co. at a cost of [[USD|$]]14 million, was once the largest tracked vehicle in the world; it has since been surpassed by the [[Bagger 288]] German [[excavator]]. It has eight tracks, two on each corner; each track has 57 shoes, and each shoe weighs about one [[short ton]]. It measures 131 ft by 114 ft (40 m by 35 m); the height from ground level to the platform is adjustable from 20 to 26 ft (6 to 8 m). The transporter weighs 6 million pounds (2,700 [[Tonne|t]]).
 It is powered by 16 traction motors, powered by four 1,000 [[Kilowatt|kW]] generators, driven by two 2,750 [[Horsepower|hp]] (2050 kW) diesel engines. Two 750 kW generators, driven by two 1,065 hp (794 kW) engines, are used for jacking, steering, lighting, and ventilating. Two 150 kW generators are also available to power the [[Mobile Launcher Platform]]. The crawler consumes 150 US gallons of diesel fuel per mile (350 L/km); its tanks hold 5,000 US gallons (19 m&sup3;).