KSC-2012-6183

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, crawler-transporter No. 2 has been undergoing modifications in high bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It has been undergoing a test drive checking out modifications to ensure its ability to carry the space agency's Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket to the launch pad. In the background is the mobile launcher being prepared to support launch vehicles such as space agency's the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion spacecraft. NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is leading the 20-year life-extension project for the crawler. A pair of behemoth machines called crawler-transporters has carried the load of taking rockets and spacecraft to the launch pad for more than 40 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each the size of a baseball infield and powered by locomotive and large electrical power generator engines, the crawler-transporters will stand ready to keep up the work for the next generation of launch vehicles projects to lift astronauts into space. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann