KSC-05-S-00100

What if your work required you to creep along at less than one mile an hour, carrying an 18-million-pound load on your back? Well, that's part of Bob Myers' job description. He's one of only nine United Space Alliance engineers certified to drive the Crawler Transporters, which ferry Space Shuttles and Mobile Launcher Platforms to the launch pads. 'Probably one of the best things about the crawler that most people don't know -- because they always typically ask how fast the crawler moves -- and I always try to tell them one of the greatest things about the crawler is how slow it moves. The crawler itself can move an eighth of an inch, if you ask it to.' NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has two of these enormous transporters, originally built to move the Apollo program's 36-story Saturn V rockets. But thanks to upgrades and maintenance by people like Bob, the 6-million-pound crawlers continue to work well despite their age. In the last two years, the crawlers have undergone major structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades, including brand new cabs and mufflers and improved ventilation. 'The crawler was built back in the early 60s. It has a lot of refurbishment it's always going through. We're either refurbishing or modifying something. So there's a lot more to our jobs besides just operating the crawler.' Bob already knows where he and his colleagues will be when Space Shuttle Discovery streaks into space on the Return to Flight mission. 'I hope to be actually on this catwalk. This is where we watch probably all of the launches. It's a great place to watch the launch from. I'm sure we've all got our fingers crossed, because we want to see a successful launch.'