Updated 12 March 2022 at 20:10 IST
NASA's massive rocket-carrier crawls out to fetch SLS rocket in incredible timelapse video
NASA's rocket transporter weighs about 2.9 million kilograms and moves at a speed of 1.6 kilometers per hour fully loaded and 3.2 kmph without payload.
NASA has brought out its massive rocket transporter at the Kennedy Space Center which is making its way to carry the brand new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the launch pad. Called crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2), the vehicle weighs about 2.9 million kilograms and was seen crawling toward the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the SLS rocket is currently sitting. The SLS rocket, with the Orion spacecraft on the top, will be rolled out to the launch pad on March 18, setting the stage for the first Artemis mission.
NASA's Exploration Ground Systems shared an incredible timelapse video of the super-heavy vehicle heading towards the VAB while the clouds gloriously pass overhead. One of the agency's two crawler-transport vehicles, the CT-2 is built to carry massive objects like rockets. Interestingly, the rocket carrier gets its name owing to its slow speed as it moves at a top speed of 1.6 kilometers per hour fully loaded and 3.2 kilometers per hour without payload. Now that the CT-2 has reached the VAB, it would now carry the SLS rocket to the LaunchPad 39B which is located a little over six kilometers from the assembly building.
NASA prepares for SLS rocket rollout
The SLS rocket would be moved to the launch pad in the early hours of March 18 for NASA to conduct the wet dress rehearsals ahead of Artemis I launch in late May. During the rehearsals, the engineers would load the SLS tanks with propellants and conduct a launch countdown to prepare for the launch day. Interested viewers can tune in at 3:30 am to NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website to watch the live coverage of the rocket rollout to the launch pad.
It is worth noting that this brand new rocket would be used for the uncrewed mission of Artemis I, which is the first of many missions that would see humans return to the Moon. NASA has planned to launch humans around the Moon in Artemis II which is scheduled no earlier than 2024 if everything goes as per the plan. However, it is Artemis III when astronauts would land on the lunar surface again, no earlier than 2025, although the date could slip to 2026, NASA has informed.
Image: Twitter/@NASAGroundSys
Published By : Harsh Vardhan
Published On: 12 March 2022 at 20:10 IST