john f. kennedy space center brevard county, florida - Environmental ...

altitude are maneuvered by small sets of metal steps. Sides 2, 3, and 4 also have metal stairs that
lower to the ground.
Inside the chassis are the power and hydraulic subsystems equipment. The DC power subsystem
contains two diesel engines, each rated at 2750 horsepower (hp), and four 1000kW generators.
These drive the 16 propulsion motors of the Crawler. The AC power subsystem, which runs the
hydraulic subsystem and the lighting and ventilating equipment, consists of two diesel engines,
each rated at 1073 hp, and two 750kW generators. There is also an auxiliary AC subsystem
composed of two diesel engines, each rated at 335 hp, and two 150kW generators. Additional
equipment includes four radiator fan motors, ventilation fans, transistor relays, damper motors,
and transformers. A small control room sits along Side 2. This room contains a control console,
an instrumentation recorder, a DC control cabinet, and various motor control centers for the
Crawler equipment.
Each truck assembly measures approximately 40 ft in length, 24 ft in width, and 10.5 ft in height.
It is comprised of two side frames with traction rollers, each with 57 separate shoes, a support
deck, and a ball bushing assembly for connection to the guide tubes of the chassis. Each
assembly also has three steering arms, four brakes, four horizontal steering hydraulic cylinders,
and four vertical jacking, equalizing, and leveling hydraulic cylinders.
The maintenance facility for the Crawler Transporters is located just north of the OPF where
repair and modification of the vehicles are carried out. The weather-protected facility includes a
high bay with an overhead crane and a low bay where shops, parts storage and offices are located.
The resource boundary incorporates all components within, and including, the perimeter of the
external shell of the Missile Crawler Transporter Facility, which includes the facility and all
necessary components historically required for its functions.
SIGNIFICANCE: The Crawlers were listed in the NRHP on January 21, 2000. Originally
nominated in the context of the Apollo Program, ca. 1961 through 1975, the Crawlers have since
gained importance in the context of the Space Shuttle program, ca. 1969 to 2010. They are
significant at the national level under NRHP Criterion A in the areas of Transportation and Space
Exploration, and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering. Because the Crawlers have
achieved significance within the past 50 years, Criteria Consideration G applies. The period of
significance for the Crawlers is from 1980, when the first flight-ready Space Shuttle vehicle was
transported to the launch pad, through 2010, the designated end of the Space Shuttle Program.
The Space Shuttle Program is the longest running American space program to date. Unlike the
Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, the emphasis was on cost effectiveness and reusability, as
well as the construction of a space station. The Crawlers are unique and are used only as
transporters for space vehicles. They have provided continuous service to the nation’s space
programs since the 1960s, and today play a vital role in the Space Shuttle Program by moving the
Shuttle to the pad in preparation for launch. Under Criterion C, the Crawlers were constructed
specifically for the task of transporting assembled space flight vehicles from the VAB to the
launch pad. As such, each Crawler was designed to carry a weight of 12.6 million pounds,
exclusive of its own weight of 6 million pounds. The four track assemblies are powered by 16
traction motors. Each Crawler has a maximum speed of 2 mph unloaded and 1 mph loaded, and
has a mean turning radius of 500 feet. In addition, the vehicles are equipped with a leveling
system to keep the Shuttle vertical during the approximate six hour trip to the launch pad from the
VAB. This system also provides the leveling needed to move up the ramp leading to the launch
pad and to keep the Shuttle level when the Shuttle/MLP combination is raised and lowered on the