SLS, NASA’s giant rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft that will allow humans to return to the moon is already at its launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the first phase of the Artemis I mission, which will begin (if all goes well) 29 August. The aforementioned rocket, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, flew on August 16 from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to Platform 39B.located in the same premises.
He also did on the road about 10 hourss, although the distance is approximately 4 miles (just over 6 kilometers). It’s a rather slow journey, but understandable if you take into accountspacecraft dimensions (has a height of more than 100 meters) and all the structures it needs to carry in order for the SLS to remain standing and for the operators to do their job during the tour.
Yes, the so-called Space launch system he conducts his tours of the Kennedy Space Center facilities while standing. That is, in an upright position, ready for takeoff. How? Thanks to a vehicle designed by NASA itself: the tracked vehicle.
Tracked vehicles are responsible for moving the SLS and other spacecraft.
tracked carrieror tracked vehicle, this vehicle designed exclusively for transporting rockets from various locations around the Kennedy Space Center facilities. from NASA. It has, as the name implies, a caterpillar mechanism, very similar to that used, for example, in tanks, and whose task is to constantly maintain a stable movement.
This vehicle, on which is placed a platform that allows the transport of missiles, follows a specially designed route called caterpillar, and it comes from the car assembly building where SLS is now located; launch pad 39B. NASA, in fact, has been using tracked vehicles since before 1996, when the Saturn IB made its first flight. But the model that currently works and with which various SLS routes have been performed is Track carrier II.
Crawler-Transporter II, considered the largest vehicle in the world, has a weight of about 2721 tons. it requires up to 30 operators to operate, although only one person pilots it. In particular, this is 24-year-old Brynn Rohloff, the youngest woman driving this car, and the only one currently, according to data. Commercial carrier log. Moving the Crawler-Transporter II is a difficult task, especially considering that speed and turning maneuvers are extremely important in order to ensure that the spacecraft it is transporting does not take any damage.
Giant and slow car, very slow
For example, for the transport of SLS, the maximum speed that has been achieved, according to Rohloff, is about 0.83 miles per hour, just over 1 kilometer per hour. To give you an idea of how slow it is, let’s say it would take us approximately 40 minutes to walk the 6 kilometers between the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Pad 39B. Crawler-Transporter II took about 10 hours.
Tracked vehicles, yes, have different systems that allow not only better control of the machine, but also more safely move the transported spacecraft. NASA has different laser systems, one for pointing and one for leveling., which are responsible for constantly keeping the platform in a horizontal position. This is important, especially when you consider that some sections have slight slopes.
Despite being a rather slow vehicle, it is extremely powerful. It has two 16-cylinder Alco diesel engines that are responsible for running up to 16 engines designed to drive on four tracks. It also includes two 1500kW Cummins diesel generators that power the rest of the Crawler-Transporter II. It is curious that a special truck follows the caterpillar transport, which through a kind of irrigation system It is designed to dampen gravel paths to prevent the rise of dust generated when rocks break due to giant wheels.
Source: Hiper Textual
