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

NAME(S): Crawlerway
FACILITY NO.: N/A
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE NO.: 8BR1689
LOCATION: KSC Launch Complex 39 Area
PROPERTY TYPE: Resources Associated with Transportation; Launch Operation Facilities
DATE(S): 1963-1965
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Designed by Giffels and Rossetti, Inc., Detroit and built by the
Blount Bros. Construction Company, the M.M. Sundt Construction Company, and the George A.
Fuller Company.
USE (ORIGINAL/CURRENT): The Crawlerway was originally designed and built during the
Apollo-era as the roadway used to transport the Mobile Service Structure (MSS) and the
combined Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) and launch vehicle to and from the launch pad. The
Crawlers perform the same function in support of the Space Shuttle Program by transporting the
Shuttle vehicle and Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) from the VAB to the launch pad.
HISTORICAL DATA: Construction of the Crawlerway started in November 1963 with
preparation of the base, made of fill dredged from the adjacent Barge Channel and sand fill.
Rollers leveled the fill, and successive layers of graded crushed aggregate, hydraulic fill, and
Alabama river stone were added. The roadway was completed in 1965. The 18,000-ft segment
located between the VAB and Launch Pad A was constructed by the Blount Bros. Construction
Company of Montgomery, Alabama and the M.M. Sundt Construction Company of Tucson,
Arizona. These contractors also built Pad A at LC 39. The 7000-ft Crawlerway extension, which
runs from midway between the LCC and Pad A to Pad B, was built by the George A. Fuller Co.
of Los Angeles. These constructors also built Pad B. The portion of the Crawlerway located west
of the VAB was altered ca. 1985 with the addition of modular office buildings, trailers and a
parking lot. The original Crawlerway remains under the temporary buildings and parking lot.
DESCRIPTION: Extending through LC 39, the Crawlerway extends from the VAB for a total
of 3.4 miles to Launch Pad 39A and 4.2 miles to Launch Pad 39B. Various short branching
trackways lead to Crawler servicing and parking areas. The Crawlerway has a total width of 130
feet, which contains two 40-foot-wide trackways separated by a 50-foot-wide grass median. At
the VAB, there are two sets of trackways, one from each of the eastern bay doors, where the
assembled Space Shuttle Vehicle begins the journey to the launch pad. About 550 feet (ft) to the
east, the two sets of trackways converge; and about 950 ft from the VAB, the now single
trackway meets with a second branch of the Crawlerway, which leads to the Crawler parking area
to the north of the VAB. From this junction, the Crawlerway continues to extend towards the
launch pads at an angle of 12 degrees to the north of due east, for about half a mile (2650 ft). It
then curves slightly, and continues at an angle of 24 degrees north of due east. After
approximately 1.56 miles, the Crawlerway is divided into two branches, one which continues
towards the northeast to Launch Pad 39A, and the other which curves to the northwest, on its way
to Launch Pad 39B.
The first branch, towards Launch Pad 39A, continues at an angle of 24 degrees north of due east
for approximately 3.01 miles (15,900 ft). At this point, the Crawlerway curves to due north,