Crane Replacement in O&C Highbay

The high bay inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is being readied on March 3, 2021, for installation of a new crane. The new overhead crane will be used to process Orion beginning with the agency’s first crewed mission, Artemis II. Teams from American Crane and Equipment Corp. replaced the Lypta 27.5-ton crane (pictured) with the new Artemis-rated 30-ton crane. The new crane will have enhanced controls and additional safety features that will allow for micro movements to within 1/100th of an inch. Operators will use the crane to lift Orion once the crew and service modules are mated.