How Do You Move a Skyscraper Sized Rocket?
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- čas přidán 24. 04. 2023
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NASA built up until recently the biggest rockets ever made, which is fine until you have to move them from where they are assembled to where they will be launched. For that, they needed something equally big and on a scale that would make them the largest self-powered vehicles for almost 50 years. This is a look at the NASA Crawler Transporters 1 and 2.
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Written, Researched and Presented by Paul Shillito
Images and footage: Images and footage : NASA, SpaceX, XCMGGroup, XCMGGroup, bennettshovel
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Why dont they use a modern version of the sea dragon? As seen in one of your previous videos.....sea launch the bloody things !
Thanks Paul...
Shoe🇺🇸
Seriously. Another Nord Shill? Thumbs down.
Stop peddling bullshit VPN false advertising, it makes you look bad
Listen to me now and hear me later. We will move your puny little rocket for you.
My dad did engineering on the crawlers. I'm sure he'd be happy they're still running.
It's not running... it's crawling.
I hope you're incredibly proud of what your Dad achieved. As an Engineer I'm jealous !!
Which parts did he design?
@@procatprocat9647 You are envious not jealous; sorry big pet peeve
My dad worked at Volvo.
I'd like to thank your dad for my awestruck childhood watching these behemoths trundling out the causeway from the VAB.
And to think, it was all done with slide rules and fully mechanical systems.
I grew up in Florida and we could watch the shuttle launch from our house. I've spent many days at the space center and the size of the equipment is truly hard to fathom
Lies
I was able to make it out there for the first time ever to see artemis 1 launch and that was an amazing experience. You are right having never seen rockets those sizes in person I never realized something so huge is able to fly.
I also grew up in Central Florida and remember the space center being a big part of our lives as kids
@@jesseturnip lies
Eyup, grew up in Orlando, loved when the shuttle would pass by and the sonic booms shaking everything. I miss them so much.
I think the image of 'Georg von Tiesenhausen" at 3:33 might, in fact, be an image of Dr Wernher von Braun. (At least, it looks strikingly like von Braun - see the picture at 4:30.)
Agree and thought the exact same thing. Hard to believe it's not the same person and not just a mistake.
I agree. That is a photograph of Wernher von Braun. I did a quick search on Google Images of 'Georg von Tiesenhausen' and 'Wernher von Braun' and found that same image on both searchs.
Was looking for this comment lol
yes :)
My uncle was a master welder at Marion Power Shovel and worked on the crawler in Marion. Those were certainly the glory days of Marion, Ohio. Things have changed drastically since then.
His legacy remains functional and fit for purpose.
It's terrible fortune that's befallen the whole area from Pittsburgh to Toledo.
@@jimurrata6785 It's not terrible fortune, its neo-liberalism/neo-conservatism and its inability to actually tax and spend, etc.
@@xBINARYGODx This. And the inability to keep critical industries domestic.
@@adamb8317 And the global warming.
If they made coal mining machines I’m not surprised their business is flooring. ;)
Every time I see the crawler, either I imagine Jawas coming out of it, or that the crawler is going to harvest some spice, depending on the day. Gladly, so far no worm signs.
And no Storm-troopers either 😉
Paul that was excellent as always. I've seen both a few times on tours to KSC. Two errata I have to correct you on, however. In 1961 it was called Cape Canaveral, it was not renamed Cape Kennedy until after the death of President Kennedy. Also, while the VAB is called the Vehicle Assembly Building now, in the 1960s it was called by its original name as Vertical Assembly Building, as the rockets were assembled vertically. It was renamed Vehicle Assembly Building during the Space Shuttle era as NASA realized vehicles may not all be assembled vertically.
More precisely, it became the 'John Kennedy Space Center' (remaining) based in Cape Canaveral, like the 'Johnson Space Center' is located in Houston. 'Cape Kennedy' is just a journalistic short-hand erroneous nickname.
@@jeanbonnefoy1377 Yes, All true. But that does not alter the fact that it was NOT called Cape Kennedy until AFTER President John F Kennedy was killed in November 1963. Whether it was official, or, as you say a “journalistic short-hand erroneous nickname”, it was not called this until 1964. In 1961, when Paul mentions this, it WAS NOT called Cape Kennedy but its original name of Cape Canaveral.
@@jeanbonnefoy1377 No, the Cape was officially called Cape Kennedy 1963-1973.
Paul's shirts are great examples of what can happen to your Pin-Stripe shirt, if you get angry and fist the keypad of a microwave-oven. 😳
@@h.dejong2531 Yes. Thanks for admitting I am right. In 1961 is WAS not, as you said, Cape Kennedy, this did not happen until 1963. Happy 4th of July
Having stood right next to the Crawler's as they moved SLS to the launch pad, its a sight and sound like you'd never believe! Really cant wait to do it again early next year for the Artemis II launch campaign!
I love the opening scene of the Apollo 11 documentary that came out in 2019 as it reveals the crawler, you get a glimpse of its scale (brief shots from it used in this video too)
I find all the infrastructure and test equipment around the space program just as interesting as the rockets and space craft themselves, amazing feats of engineering in their own rights!
Wow, what was the sound like? I've only seen pictures with commentary.
@@Goalsplus that same documentary also has the sound of the crawler. I saw that film in an Imax theater, the sound is a massive, deep rumble.
@Acme Industries I never saw that documentary but your description has me interested.
@@Goalsplus It's well worth watching. Based mostly on high-quality film footage (70mm) that's never been used before, it's one of the best Apollo documentaries I've seen.
Was Von Tiesenhausen that year's winner of the annual Werner Von Braun look-alike contest??
Yes, that's von Braun in that photo. Oops.
the apollo 11 IMAX shots of these things in motion was magnificent
It's amazing that the crawlers have been in use for so long. If you think about the potential for severe weather in Florida this was probably the best option.
i wonder what the contingency plan is, if a storm just suddenly worsened drastically and moved into the crawler's path when it is deployed and loaded with insufficient time to return...
@@alveolate Worst case scenario would be an empty tank rocket toppling over destroying itself and damaging the crawler and infrastructure around it. Not that big of a deal considering rockets did explode on the launch sites and they still managed to salvage them.
Outstanding video. Learned plenty watching it too. A vital but under-appreciated piece of kit. Saw one of these at KSC about 3 years ago, amazing engineering. Thanks !
Images of those massive Crawler always fascinated me as a kids who follow the space shuttles in the 80 and 90. the giant tracks are just so cool.
I would love to see a video on the lightning protection they have for the launch towers? I worked on that many years ago. Fascinating work.
watch?v=TN1MEFzY-6E There you go. NASA space flight did one.
When I learned more about engineering, I became more impressed by the crawlers than I was by the Saturn V rocket. And I was totally enthralled by the rocket.
It's amazing how complex something can be because of the scale of what's involved. On the surface, it just looks like a flat pad moving on caterpillar tracks but it's clearly a lot more.
12:38 "It could quickly be moved.."
😂
Wernher von Braun probably was inspired by the movie "Frau im Mond" released in 1929. In the movie, the rocket launched to the moon was assembled in a large building the trucked out to the launch site
Paul, your videos are unrivaled in my opinion! You have an amazing presentation style! Keep up the outstanding work!
This gigantic human feat of achievement gives me goosebumps every time.
3:35 that is Wernher von Braun
I think so too.
and he read the name as GREG and Georg lol..... but yea, that's for sure Von Vraun
It looks like Georg, they looked quite similar. "Tiesenhausen worked with Wernher von Braun developing V-2 rockets in Germany during World War II." Died ~5years ago.
I visited the KSC and it was very impressive! The crawlers are one essential part of the space program and, surprisingly, they are still in use!
Paul, aside from the amazing content, you’re the best “let me explain” presenter because I can’t tell if you’re using a teleprompter. It appears as though you’re looking at me when you talk and that just enhances the experience. Thank you!
I recently visited KSC and took the bus out to the Saturn V visitor center, which drives right past the VAB. Sitting outside next to the VAB were both crawlers parked. The thing I love about Apollo is that everything we did was going to be the biggest, the best, the most powerful, the most badass, and we were destined to freaking win. Like the Saturn V itself, America's space program was an unstoppable juggernaut in those days, and the crawler transporters are living, breathing, still-working artifacts of that age.
I recently visited KFC.😂
@@4thegloryofthelord Another unstoppable juggernaut. 😁
America's space program was and will be unstoppable. That is as long as it gets funding
I’m glad you addressed the track road, without which all the rest would be moot.
Great stuff as always! I was a bit surprised, that the Marion excavator was so much heavier :)
we missed you droid! best wishes for good health thanks for your videos:)
What a great video. Short and sweet. Not too much depth but I've already done a deep dive on what you are talking about. The information you provide is amazing!
Eyo Droid, happy to see another video from you!
And that you passed a milli subs, congratulations and thank you!
This video makes drag cranes look even more impressive. Some of those monsters were built 20 years before these crawlers and featured some enormous Engineering design
Still it's amazing that Marion built it in 2 years!
Another wonderful presentation. Thank you for all the hard work you put into them.
I got to watch Starship launch last week in person. It was my first rocket launch and was quite the spectacle!
The mention of the fuel consumption of the crawlers reminded me of a calculation that the Saturn 5 first stage had a fuel consumption if 5 inches to the gallon!
Something I hadn't realised until a KSC guide explained it is the reason the VAB is so far away from 39A/B (most other pads with smaller assembly buildings have them much closer) - it's the minimum distance that they predicted would be safe from major damage should a fully fuelled Saturn V have a catastrophic failure and explode...
Thanks for another amazing video Paul! Your work deserves far more praise than I can fit in this tiny comment box.
It would have been interesting if you had explained a bit about the process by which the rocket is transferred from the crawler to the launch pad, because as far as I understand the rocket does not take off from the crawler transporter.
My thoughts too - I assume the launch platform was set down on mounting posts at the launch site and the crawler then slid out from underneath?
I was on the Crawler transporter crew from 1990 - 1999. We could never go 1 mph for sustained times with the shuttle stack due to the orbiter stabilizer would shake. A typical speed to the pad would be .8 to .9 mph. Great video.
The timing of this is perfect.
Fantastic video! Growing up, I always thought these were similar to the Star Wars sand crawlers, I’m sure George Lucas took some inspiration from these, but in this case, reality beats fiction imo!
How come you are the " only " youtube chanel that gives me insight and information that matters. Thanks o7
...and that's despite there being tens of thousands of other channels that try.
Thanks for all the videos Paul!
I always love your videos, and look forward to each one. I'd love more info on how they load up the crawler, and even better, how they unload when they get to the pad. Or do they launch directly from the crawler? I could Google it, but you're the guy for providing all the interesting details. Cheers.
The crawler delivers the stack to the pad, and then lowers itself down so the load is carried by the concrete before it leaves the pad. The crawlers are not designed to handle the full might of a launch. The tower etc is loaded up by doing the same in reverse, and the rocket is placed lifted up on it using cranes in the VAB.
Delivered in two years at $130 million each, actually seems like a really good deal. Great job by the contractors!
I love these videos! Great work putting it all together for us - Thank you!
I'm glad you are doing well and look healthy Paul.
They turned my alerts for you off again! I have so much catching up to do. Love these. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Paul. I have been a fan of the American space program, since my mother had me and my two sisters, watched the funeral procession of the Apollo1 fire disaster. I also had my first grade teacher, have us watch the launch of Apollo 7. So, I've been around!
Paul, what a great video on the history and methods of launching a rocket. Thank you for the details and the entertaining look at ways to "move a skyscraper rocket.."
I never really comment on your videos. But just want to say they are always super enjoyable to watch and even just to listen to. Awesome
Great vid as usual. I'd love to know more about the Saturn program's mobile service structure. I think it's an overlooked piece of hardware and I would like to know how it was constructed, how it moved and how it was used.
3:26 I'm fairly sure that the photo on the right is of Wernher von Braun, not Georg von Tiesenhausen.
It was exciting watching the movers when I was eight years old and you make them exciting today.
You are awsome Paul. You make my favorite programs and your not a conspiracy theories thank god. Keep it up
I have seen the crawler in person in KENNEDY SPACE CENTER it is amazingly huge...
With crawler speed that slow even turtles feel like speed demons as they pass that 8,200 ton vehicle on the road
The crawlers are probably the most amazing machines i've ever seen. The power to move 8000 tons up a 5° incline on these bus-sized tracks is an awe-inspiring sight.
Well, what a video, really appreciated it.
"Hanz" and "Franz?"
Rocket scientists are such Geeks and I love them for it!!!
Back in the '80s Road & Track did a featured road test of one of these for their April issue. Over the years they did a lot of weird things in their April issue like locomotives and cruise ships but what made it great was they used actual data and did full photo spreads so, even if it was a joke, you still learned about interesting vehicles.
In theory, SpaceX shouldn't often need to transport the Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster to the launchpad, since they are designed to be reusable and simply land back at the launchpad. Let's just hope that SpaceX learned their lesson and builds a proper flame diversion trench and water deluge system for their Starship.
Still blown away by the speed that all this kit was built given that it was a world of drawing boards, slide rules and non CNC machine tools. Great video as usual, keep them coming.
I live in Auburn, NY home of the old ALCO plant that made the original inline 251 diesel and components for the 251C v16 diesel engines that power this behemoth 🙂
This was a neat video to watch, thank you.
3:30 - Tiesenhausen looks just like Von Braun.
They are wonderful machines and it's surprisingly hard to find information about them. I'd love to see video of the picking up and putting down process, and then the slow retreat.
In 2017, after some major surgery that would keep me from working or at least a two to three months, my family went to the Kennedy Space center and I also did the tour of the launch sites. I saw one of the crawlers, and wow! it was massive! I a saw a upstart SpaceX assembly building.
I hope you’re doing well CD. I also hope to see more videos soon. Ans if possible, more often:). I love your content
Thank you for another great video, Lord Varys!!!
There are two of these big movers and they're officially named Hans and Franz after the Saturday Night Live skit. (Sorry if the video mentioned that but I didn't see it.)
Great video, but one minor correction. To move the SLS back to the VAB from the pad is closer to a three day operation. There is a lot of prep work before the ML can actally be moved. All depends on how much prep for launch was done prior to having to move it back. Fun times!
Also, they were getting worried prior to the SLS launch about wear and tear from being transported so many times. That rocket clocked up more miles between VAB and pad than any of the rovers have on Mars.
Very informative. Thank you
I d love to see a video about the “umbilical “ cords that are seen dropping away when rockets are launched. What specifically are the for AND how do,they always seem to make sure that they do in fact, drop away. How are they cut/released? How do they make sure they always drop away as they are designed to do? Do they ever fail? Love you videos, I watch every one.
Generally the umbilical cords provide electricity (to charge the battery and keep the vehicle powered until it switches to internal power), fuel (usually kerosene or hydrogen, but can also be hydrazine), an oxidizer (often liquid oxygen), other gasses (like helium and nitrogen to purge lines, cool them, and etc), and data. Often you're hear a call-out for internal power (not to be confused for internal guidance), and tanks reaching flight-pressure (most propellants are really cold, so managing their pressure is a pain and you'll often have to do some amount of venting).
There are several different ways of disconnecting umbillicals, including but not limited to small explosives (for example to cut bolts) and guillotines ... or just ripping it out, there are redundancies in place to ensure the cut-off always happens when it should, and never before.
GSE failures do happen, usually it's just cause for delays or scrubbinng a launch. On MR-1 they had installed a wrong umbilical (for a different version of the Redstone missile) causing a ground-fault and engine shutdown shortly after launch. The booster fell down on the pad, but remained intact, they considered shooting it to detank it but decided to just wait for the batteries to discharge and then detank it normally. The booster then flew again on a later flight.
@@sundhaug92 Thanks for the info. Surprised to read that for some of them they just rip them out. But, I'm sure they tested it and the most simple is always the best if it works.
@@brussels13207 Well, there's a connector that's unplugged, it's not like they'll pull the cable apart. Often there's a plate that holds a bunch of connectors, and it's pretty easy to winch that plate away from the rocket.
Drop one ball out of the ring, all the other balls shift out of my place. The two mating pieces become uncoupled and separate.
You are on the way to the moon.
Excellent video. Thank you Paul!
Awesome video about an awesome piece of engineering!
Amazing dude as always.
Excellent thank you!
I think you got the picture of Tiesenhausen mixed with von Braun ;D When you search for Tiesenhausen this image actually pops up, but im 100% sure, this is von Braun in the picture
I was wondering the question regarding Elon stacking the 2 units that were already upright near each other.
But I didn't think about it very long. I just reasoned, ships are as light as possible. They just look heavy.
And if I'm not mistaken, a stunningly tremendous portion of weight is fuel, which isn't loaded until later.
That was easy - I think?
The Saturn V was empty on the transporter, too, wasn't fueled until it was on the launch pad. But even empty these big machines are still heavy.
the Saturn V was empty on the transporter but it was hooked up to the launch mount in the VAB. the transporter hauled the whole launch mount (which was very heavy) out to the launch site with the rocket, which is why it needed to be so big. SpaceX use Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMT) to move the rockets around, but the big innovation for them was being able to hook up the rocket to the launch mount and the upper to the lower stage in the elements.
@@zchris13 Very interesting.
To all, of course the "empty" shells are still heavy, so I'm only speaking relatively. The point being, hoisting those giant structures is "not as enormously heavy/difficult as it 'appears' ".
@@zchris13is it really a big innovation?
Thats how both Thor-Delta and saturn I rockets were stacked in early 60s.
Delta IV rocker does the same thing today even if its retiring.
The Saturn V is about 220 tons without fuel, 2800 tons fully fueled. Starship has a similar ratio of empty versus fueled weight.
Love your work Paul
Great content Paul!
Another excellent video, but I'm a little disappointed in your dismissal, at 6:35 of the Soviet transporter. The N-1 was just as heavy as the Saturn V (slightly more, actually) and its transporter not only had to move the assembled vehicle a similar distance, but also had to erect it to a vertical position and lower it onto the launch pad. Nicknamed "the grasshopper" due to the large projecting structures of the erector mechanism, it ran on two sets of rails and was moved by four of the Soviet's largest diesel locomotives (three of them controlled remotely by the engineer in the #1 cab).
They had to transport horizontally because of the weather. While, as you point out, NASA had to contend with the occasional hurricane, for which they would scurry back to the VAB, the winds on the Kazakhstan steppes blow strongly and continuously. There's no way they can transport a 100 meter tall rocket vertically.
This is why I love reading through the comments: Great information to be had, because someone has specialist knowledge. Thank you Jack 👍🏼
@@David-yo5ws YW. I did a book on the N-1 and the Soviet moon program a few years ago, so I'm a little sensitive to it 🙂
The decision to built the Saturn 5 vertically was reflected in the original name of the VAB, which was "Vertical Assembly Building". The press mistook the "V" for "Vehicle" and so constantly reported it under that name that NASA had to give in and change the name to how we know it now. They could have called it the "Vertical Vehicle Assembly Building" or "VVAB", but then the press would have been asking, "What does the W stand for?"
3:26 I'm pretty sure the guy on the right picture is Wernher von Braun, not Georg von Tiesenhausen!
You are not the only one who thought the same
Extraordinary engineering!
Looove your videos, Paul. Keep them coming please.
3:27 - Gentleman's striking resemblance to Wernher von Braun
The photo you identified as Georg Von Tiesenhausen is actually a photo of Wernher Von Braun
Amazing vehicles! Great video ty.
The picture for Georg Von Tiesenhausen is Wernher Von Braun.
Wonderful to hear and see your video. Keep up the great work.
Excellent video and 100% support ❤❤❤
I got an unexpected brief tour of the Kennedy Space Center during the first half of the 1990s when I was in the US Coast Guard.
I got to stand next to one of the crawlers, and touch the tracks.
Those tracks DWARFED 5'5" {165 cm} tall me...😊
Always insightful. Thank you to you and your team!
It is always a pleasure to listen to you very interesting videos ❤️👏👍🏽🙏
Very good peace of history. One of the big reasons SpaceX can move their larger rocket in peaces is because it is designed to be reusable. It comes apart without explosives. Easy to stack and unstack.
Having rode out on the crawler with SLS on it, I must say that thing is an absolute beast.
Such a great Channel !!!!!!
3:27 I think You put Werner von Braun picture for the Georg von Tiesenhausen.
wow this is just ... amazing!
8:55 is the infamous SNL episode with Steven Seagull
Great vid!
Maybe some words about the spacex transport stand?
Great video as usual!
Quite timely too as I am building the Revell 1/144 40th Anniversary edition of the Space Shuttle with Booster Rockets. This includes a Shuttle sitting on a crawler, and I was looking for colour references which your video provides quite a few of.
Oh God, no please…. I have enough plastic to last me 4 lifetimes…. Ohhh…. Ohhh…. Ohhh fine, okay, okay…. I’ll order one or two. 😂
@@miamijules2149 Oh yes, the crawler by itself is quite a big boy. Easily larger than many of my 1/35 tanks...