Crawler's new shoes to help Space Shuttle move toward return to flight

For Release: Oct. 15, 2004

Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

KSC RELEASE: 79-04

CRAWLER'S NEW SHOES TO HELP SPACE SHUTTLE MOVE TOWARD RETURN TO FLIGHT

NASA's two crawler transporter vehicles soon will sport new "shoes." A $10
million project to replace the 456 tread belt shoes, weighing more than one
ton each, on both crawlers at Kennedy Space Center begins mid-October.

The shoes are critical for safely transporting the Space Shuttle to the
launch pad. Cracks on old shoes can prevent the cleats from moving along the
crawlerway and can compromise the structural integrity of the shoes.

Each of the vehicles has eight belts, and each belt has 57 shoes. Most shoes
on the crawlers date back to 1965, when the vehicles were built and first
put into service for Apollo launches.

Inspections in late 2003 revealed fatigue cracks in many of the shoes,
leading to complete replacement of shoes on both crawlers. Crawler
transporter No. 2, designated for Discovery's Return to Flight mission to
the International Space Station, will receive its new shoes first.

"The crawler transporters are going to be in great shape for Return to
Flight and the crawler team is delivering," said Mark Hamilton, NASA crawler
transporter systems engineer. "This is by far the most active maintenance
period in the history of the crawlers, requiring continuous heavy equipment
crane support and the use of custom rigging and tooling."

NASA and United Space Alliance (USA) crawler transporter systems engineers
and USA technicians are repairing the sprockets and rollers on each belt
before the new shoes are installed. Welding repair and inspection of some of
the sprockets and manufacture of some of the rollers also is being performed
at KSC.

The new shoes, each 7.5 feet long and 1.5 feet wide, are being made by ME
Global Manufacturing of Duluth, Minn. They arrive at KSC in truckloads of 20
to comply with shipping load limits.

Other upgrades or modifications recently completed on crawler No. 2 include
complete electrical rewiring of the motor control center and installation of
new driver cabs, mufflers, radiators and ventilation systems. The same work
is now under way on crawler No. 1.

Hamilton noted the majority of mechanical crawler parts are unique to the
vehicle and are specially manufactured. "We are fortunate that the massive
precision components, such as the large drive gear sets and gear shaft
bearings, still look new."

-end-

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/det...?mediaid=24052


Photo KSC-04PD-2139
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Crawler Transporter (CT) area, a worker
offloads some of the new crawler shoes that arrived from Minnesota. In the
background is one of the two CTs. The new shoes were manufactured by ME
Global in Duluth, Minn. The CT transports the Mobile Launcher Platform,
with the assembled Space Shuttle aboard, between the refurbishment area, the
VAB and Launch Complex Pads 39A and 39B. The crawlers have 456 shoes, 57
per belt (8 belts in all). Each shoe weighs 2,200 pounds. The original
shoes were manufactured for the Apollo Program. Cracks appeared in the
shoes in recent years spurring a need for replacement. The new
manufacturer, in Duluth, Minn., has improved the design for Return to Flight
and use through the balance of the Space Shuttle Program.


For additional photos on this topic, go to
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=16



--
---------------------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info

CRAWLER'S NEW SHOES TO HELP SPACE SHUTTLE MOVE TOWARD RETURN TO FLIG

What are they doing with the original shoes?
..
..
End the dangerous wasteful shuttle now before it kills any more astronauts....