NASA delays SLS rollback due to concerns over rocky path to launchpad
The crawlerway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is a 4.2-mile road of rocks. Built back in the glory days of the Apollo program, the initial design of the road called for asphalt, but engineers realized that the material would not be able to handle the immense weight of the crawler transporter. Furthermore, it was discovered that turning the transporter would result in damage to the machinery as well as the road, necessitating a rethink.
Eventually, NASA selected river rock, mostly quartz, round and 3-4 inches in diameter. The rocks act as bearings when the crawler turns and absorb energy when crushed. Wear and tear means the rock, laid 8-12 inches think, needs replacing every 10 years depending on usage. Such is the intense crushing, first from the Saturn stacks, then the Shuttle, and now the SLS, that the rocks get ground down to the size of pebbles.
The last major upgrade happened in 2014 and engineers expect a repeat performance ahead of the launch of Artemis II, along with more frequent replacement of the rocks thanks to the sheer weight of the stack. ®
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