KSC00pp0098

One of two new payload transporters for Kennedy Space Center moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building (left) and Launch Control Center (right) after being unloaded from a barge at Port Canaveral. The transporters, manufactured by the KAMAG Transporttechnick, GmbH, of Ulm, Germany, are replacing the existing Payload Canister Transporter system, which is 20 years old. Each transporter is 65 feet long and 22 feet wide and has 24 tires divided between its two axles. The transporter travels 10 miles per hour unloaded, 5 miles per hour when loaded; it weighs up to 172,000 pounds when the canister with payloads rides atop. The transporters will be outfitted with four subsystems for monitoring the environment inside the canister during the payload moves: the Electrical Power System, Environmental Control System, Instrumentation and Communications System, and the Fluids and Gases System. Engineers and technicians are being trained on the transporter's operation and maintenance