The essential piece for U.S. space launches: a historic 3,000-ton machine, stable, precise and still the jewel of NASA

NASA’s Crawler Transporter has been launched: a colossal, self-powered vehicle designed to transport rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center.

Introduced in 1965, two of these machines were built by the Marion Power Shovel Company, each costing approximately $14 million at the time.

Measuring 131 feet in length and 114 feet in width, the crawler measures up at around 26 feet tall and weighs around 6 million pounds (2,721 metric tonnes).

To get around, the crawler operates on four double-tracked treads, each with 57 shoes weighing over 900 kg. Powered by two 2,750 hp V16 ALCO 251C diesel engines, it drives four 1,341 hp generators for traction, along with additional engines for auxiliary systems. Its fuel consumption is, ahem, quite high, burning approximately 125.7 gallons per mile. It’s no Prius.

Designed for precision, the crawler moves at a maximum speed of 1.6 km/h (1 mph) when loaded, ensuring the safe transport of delicate rocket structures. The journey it takes when on shift, shuffling from the VAB to Launch Complex, 39 spans a whopping 3.5 miles, something that typically takes between five to eight hours.

Over the decades, the crawler has been instrumental in NASA’s major programs, including Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and Artemis. Recently, huge updates have been added to the mammoth vehicle, including more powerful and efficient diesel-electric engines, modernised hydraulic systems and state-of-the-art onboard computers.

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The payload capacity has also been increased; now able to support the heavier Space Launch System (SLS), the capacity surpasses even the humungous Saturn V in weight.

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