More Bits Historic Apollo Hardware Which Never Left The Ground. 

I certainly hope the transporters didn't make it off the ground, it would mean someone forgot to release the clamps :D

125 gallons/mile may seem bad, but it's still like 100x the fuel efficiency of the Saturn V first stage it was carrying.

FOR SALE 1965 classic hotrod, 1341hp, low miles, great storage space, hybrid diesel electric so exempt from london congestion charge and hippie friendly, good fuel mileage for age. new engines, new exhausts, new brakes, new hydraulics, new computers in 2012. Would fit in very well with thunderbirds which is fitting cus thats also made in 1965! Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard would surely approve. May trade for a gold corvette. See my other listing for an eco friendly 8 seater black and white van that outputs nothing but water!

The crawlers are themselves a feat of engineering. I'm glad they are still around. Each link of their tread weighs 1000 pounds. Those things took a lot of men a lot of hours to build.

I live near Marion,Ohio and know people who worked for Marion Power Shovel and worked on the mobile transporters, their pride was extreme. I can only imagine what it was like building an iconic piece of history.

I have been inside one of the MLPs in the early 90's. Not sure which one. I was working for Harris Space Systems on a project to upgrade the systems used to control the launch. The module I was working on went several places, including in an equipment rack inside the MLP. The racks were spring mounted to protect the equipment from the intense vibrations that occurred during launch. Inside the office space at the launch pad, all the office furniture was removed for each launch so that it would not bounce around and cause damage to just about everything. Being inside the MLP was like being inside a ship or submarine. All the doors had a gas tight seal and the spaces inside were flooded with nitrogen so that combustion could not be supported. When it was at the VAB, and maybe also at the pad, the MLP was connected to plumbing so that the rest rooms inside it could be used. This is where the $100 stainless steel toilet seats were, which had caused controversy about government spending. There was quite a lot of electronics equipment in the MLP that was part of the system for communicating with the shuttle before it launched. Speaking of government spending, this project was on a cost plus contract. If anything unanticipated was needed there seemed to be an attitude that there was plenty of money to pay for it where the money so far had come from. In 93 congress cut NASA's budget and NASA cut the program. We had just finished checking out the prototypes and as far as I know the new system was never built and installed. We had a few months to tidy up documentation in case funding came back later. In early 94 I was laid off and moved on to other things.

Seeing the crawler was the most impressive part of visiting KSC save for watching a spaceX launch.

I actually never realized that the saturn V mobile platform had the tower on it.

125 gallons/mile = 300 gallons/kilometer? You mean liters/kilometer?

Could you please explain about space ship docking systems methods into iss?

Those crawlers have another world record: The only moving vehicle to be declared a National Historic Place.

More of this Scott, you just have a great voice to talk over these beautiful images.

That mobile launch system, add some armor and mount a cruiser turret on it, and its suddenly Hitler’s Christmas gift

Hey Scott...what happened with your outro ?

You should do a video on why all Astronauts (pilots and mission specialists) have to be able to drive an armoured personal carrier.

Hans and Franz They're here to pump you up!

3:56 *Kerbal 100*

reminds me of something from Homeworld Deserts of Kharak.

My father was a QA guy for the Apollo Saturn program. The "Milk Stool" platform according to him had a lot of sway in the wind. The H1 Engines they maintained and prepped for flight were clustered on the Saturn 1b. A technician dropped a large wrench that fell the entire distance hitting the flame bucket and by the velocity it gained bounced out into the field beyond the pad complex. None of the crew was allowed to go home from the second shift until it was recovered having traveled laterally nearly as far as it fell.

These things were Impressive walking by them on several visitor tour's at KSC in the 80's and 90's. Most impressive. Nice video Scott.

I’d love to see more videos like this

I recall driving past the Marion Power Shovel plant during the mid-1970s and seeing recognizable unused crawler subassemblies corroding away in their back lot. When I took a bus tour of the Kennedy Space Center in '81 I was amused to see Cape workers having lunch in the shade under one the crawler platforms parked on four corner pylons.

*cries in Buran spacecraft*

Always wondered how many men have "driven" the CT's- and when the last shuttle had been rolled out and they parked the CT, who would be the next to drive it? As others have said-AWESOME piece of history and engineering! Thank you Scott for the great video!

If I recall it correctly, the Russians prefer to transport their rockets in horizontal position, and then lift them up once they're at the launchpad. I bet the crane system used to put them in vertical position is a feat of engineering as well

I just love the Crawlers, they're fantastic and underrated pieces of engineering. Also, they're just so... Thunderbirds-looking... that they always start a smile on my face and the theme tune in my head :)

Did you see CuriousMarc's new video series where he and his friends restore an original Apollo Guidance Computer? Highly recommended!

You know how I had a image of the engine room those engines come out of American locomotive company diesel locomotives that's what Alco stands for Alco went out of business in 1969 but Fairbanks Morris who builds opposed-piston diesel engines block all the patents and rights to Alco and they reproduce Alco parts and make parts for these locomotives to keep them alive that's probably why this crawler is still working I'm a rail fan that's how I know this I love locomotives alcoser cool I can't believe they're still running thank God for Fairbanks Morrison and keep them running it's pretty badass peace out in the world have a great day

Thank you for consolidating all the bits and pieces of information about rocket transporters in one video. Maybe in future a comparison video between different transport methods from different space agencies - it would be welcome. Thanks again,

American locomotive aka ALCO was a huge company. Pretty interesting history if you’re curious.

Interesting video. You should do a video on the grandaddy of space rockets..V2 rocket.

I remember, for years, I used to have a xerox of a Motor Trend article comparing the crawler to other large vehicles as a parody. Even as a small kid, it always fascinated me seeing it the first time in the mid-sixties.

Build a platform, put a restaurant and other amenities on it, put a crawler underneath it and drive it around Cape Canaveral. Fun & history for the whole family.

That's not a milk stool. A milk stool has 3 legs. That's what makes it distinct from a normal stool. Clearly none of the engineers at NASA have lived on a farm.Or in my case, none have seen a TV show about victorian farming.

I believe the Marion company was absorbed into the Bucyrus-Erie company that still manufactures Large scale Dragline and other earth moving equipment. During one of our visits to KSC, one of the historians on the bus mentioned that when we stopped off to look at one closer.

MLP to Space enthusiasts: Mobile Launcher Platform. MLP to Bronies: ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ My Little Pony, My Little Pony ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

I always though the crawlers where the coolest part of the launch system.

Great research into the really interesting stuff, Scott. You always deliver the most fascinating food for thought on your channel.

Very nice video! There was a small mistake about the new ML. It was originally made for the Constellation's program Ares 4 & 5. Then When the SLS program started it was modified to hold the SLS block 1. When the SLS program started, Nasa decided to save money and modify the Constellation's ML instead of building a new one. It was then kinda mucked up by Nasa and the contractor that modified it. The modifications design was done by Nasa and involved among other things, making the flame holes larger and in turn removing structural integrety. This in the end caused the tower to have a slight lean. This lean was enough that the service arms would not line up with coresponding locations on the rocket. Also the contractor had made a bunch of errors that included piping going to the wrong places, incorrect assembly, and things left off completely. At this point a modification of the modification had to be done as too much money had been spent already. A new contractor was brought in and started "fixing" the problems. The base with the flame holes was reinforced, the service arms were modified with a slight incline to make up for the lean, and everything else was gone over with a fine toothed comb and fixed. Drawings are still being updated to reflect all the changes. About two months ago, the ML-1 made a trip to the pad on the upgraded crawler to check all the connections. It is now in the VAB where final assembly and testing will be done. ML-2 is to hold SLS Block 1B and Block 2 and should start construction next year. It will be brand new and include all the lessons learned from ML-1. ML-2 has to be taller and stronger to support the weight of the larger block 1B and Block 2. One of the crawlers was also upgraded with new jacks and a bunch of other major components to handle the weight because SLS 1B and 2 will be heavier than the Saturn 5. They also brought in an expert to check the entire crawler way for soil compression due to the extra weight. Florida is know for it's aquafers and sink holes and the space center is basically in a swamp.

Nooo the music changed! :(

125 gallons per mile? Is that city or highway?

yo scooby, can you do a vid update on development of the scottish space station being built :D

Thanks to this video, I know where "Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak" inspired from.

5:29 Excuse me I've played ksp before and i'm quite confident that rocket should not fly.

Off to see KSC tomorrow, with both of my kiddos, I am so giddy to see it again.

Hello Scott. Please review Reaction Engines Skylon space plane concept and their SABER engine.

Some fun Scott Manley references in KSP: Manley's pride as a randomly generated zone Liking Ike as a loading screen (IQ reference)

ALCO... American Locomotive COmpany. Near and dear to steam enthusiasts! 5000gal is a normal size for a locomotive tank. There's a great video on here by someone that got a tour of the crawler, look for it. Same guy got a tour through the scrapyard, lots of cool stuff there too.

The FSS for Shuttle was the cut down launch tower from the mobile launcher for Apollo. The tower SpaceX is using at LC39A (somewhat modified) is over 60 years old.

Great video. Very educational.

Whats the name of the outro song? It's pretty cool ;) Great video as always, these crawlers never fail to amaze me!

The ''literal weight of history'' comment made me laugh way too much. xD

National protected locations, that can move themselves wherever you want...so long as you're willing to wait long enough

Gotta love the launch structures. I would love to tour the crawlers... such wonderfully built machines.

Reminds me of Thunderbirds!

3000 miles 1MPH therefore 3000 hours of driving Therefore 8.22 years of driving over three crawlers Therefore 2.74 years of driving per crawler in 50 years So each had been driving (given a equal distribution of drive hours between them thingie) for 5.5% of their life span :O :o :O :O

I worked for a company Powell Electrical, based in Houston, TX, but had a factory in Green Township, on the east side of I-77 across from the Akron-Canton airport. I had heard that Powell did build power control equipment for NASA.

Hey Scott! I was wondering if you knew how many more flights SpaceX's Falcon 9 Block 5 needs to receive the thumbs up from NASA for human flights. I know the requirement is 7 and that they are looking to put humans on a Falcon 9 in June 2019, but I'd like to know SpaceX's progress.

Every statistic about the crawlers is super sized! They've traveled the distance of driving coast-to-coast across the USA...while using 125 gallons of fuel per mile. Glad I don't have to fill the tanks in those bad boys. Great video as usual DJSNM!

Kennedy Space Center , was a fun place to work . I worked there from 1964-1973 , With Trans World Airlines then Boing Co.in Base Support .The first Crawler Operators , were retrained mining equipment Operators . If you want to get into something interesting , check out the crawler , road bed. Not quite Beach Sand !

Wait...125 gallons per mile or 300 per kilometer? I don't think that math works. Liters, maybe. I think it would be about 330 liters per kilometer.

A very small and humourous bit of pride. In the 1960's my mother was one of the very minor engineers on the crawler, Bendix Corp. I believe. Controls for keeping it level. Laughing,, I seem to remember one of the early solutions (that's a pun) was the utter simplicity of water filled tubes. Absolutely accurate and it accounted for the curvature of the Earth. The platform is so large, that mirrors, lasers, any line or line of sight, is inaccurate because of the curvature of the Earth. One of the earliest test rigs in a shop in Michigan,, again,, I think I am remembering it correctly,, used a toilet tank with the fill valve in place to keep the system filled.. Gravity works.

All of this comes out of a 1929 movie by Fritz Lang called Woman on the Moon. By the 60's a bunch of retired Nazis were having a bit of fun on the US tax payer.

125 GALLONS PER MILE. So these are great contenders for the vehicle with the worst fuel economy in history? I doubt even a mega container ship gets that poor of milage O.o

When I was a space mad kid I got to climb on a crawler transporter. It was parked outside the VAB. Apollo 11 was on 39A and 12 and 13 were in the VAB. It was an exciting time. I was too young to understand the extreme risks involved, only the adventure.

Gotta buy one of those crawlers when they are retired and turn it into a camper build, nice floral curtains in the windows, Roam Sweet Roam door mat...

Thanks for converting gallons/mile to gallons/kilometer... But I still have no idea how much a gallon is

“125 gallons of diesel per mile” but “300 gallons per kilometre”, doh! One Km equals approx 62% of a mile so it would require around 6 % of the fuel not more than double.

Love the music at the end there! Great video, good to know the crawlers are protected for being the important bits of history that they are.

Speaking of launch-platforms: is there any website that shows closeups of the Ariane 5 launchplatforms? Just wondering if they use still the same that a local company built in the mid 90s :) They had a big "MAN GHH" logo on the side.

Crawlers with ALCO diesel motors. Railfans: *Allow us to introduce ourselves*

I think a lot of the original design for Nasa was done by Bucyrus Erie however Marion got the contract to actually build the transporters, BE and Marion were rivals in the design and manufacturer of open cast mining Stripping Shovels on which the crawlers are based.

Maybe you could cover SLC-6 at Vandenberg AFB and it's illustrious Shuttle program.

I Not really understan the mobile Lauch system. I mean did they Put the crawler under it away or not? I mean the other rocats( falcon...) also get down to the ground. Or was it at this sice just not ppssible?

I Not really understan the mobile Lauch system. I mean did they Put the crawler under it away or not? I mean the other rocats( falcon...) also get down to the ground. Or was it at this sice just not ppssible?

Sure wish you would use US units instead of meters, etc. I mean....it WAS the USA that built these things. Just saying...

This is why locomotives calcuate their fuel consumption in terms of ton miles per gallon. The crawler transporter pulls off somewhere around 90 to 100 ton miles per gallon. A typical modern freight locomotive is more like 450 to 500 ton miles per gallon. So the crawlers aren't efficient by the standards of new diesel engines, but they also aren't absurdly inefficient compared to other equipment moving similiarly super heavy loads.

Those crawler-transporters are some of the most awesome machines ever built, I bet the guys who built must've swelled with pride when they saw them fired up and hauling Saturn V's out to the pads. Over 50 years old and no end of work to do. Americans definitely got their money's worth out of that particular piece of equipment.

oww new ending song/sounds :D

I saw these in person on the Kennedy Space Center bus tour and they are MASSIVE. I saw where the rock roads for the MLPs intersect asphalt roads, the asphalt has dents in it from the MLP treads.

I hate to admit but this series of things that never went to space is actually more interesting thing I've seen about space for quite awhile... Except the fireball I caught on camera in my area Sunday evening.

I hope they keep it original, original diesel engines, and electric motors! Would be a neat piece of kit to see in person. Im surprised that they create a level surface from one end to the other, a 1 in 20 gradient when your 40 metres long is quite a lot of compensation to keep the rocket vertical. Billions of dollars in the hands of some hydraulic hoses is a scary thought.

That was before they knew how to do planned obsolescence properly. Things have moved on a little since then I'm glad to say. These days you to drive it back to your very local authorised dealer where they can save you money through sensible investment in a brand new one with self park!

hi scott can you please make a video on the issue on rocket plattforms itself and what is connected , water suppressions , flame buckets and one thing i did not know today is on what structural part is a rocket sitting on ? .....what was supporting the 3000 + tons on a saturn V how big was the footprint of that thing standing upright fueled ?

These days you could probably order them from the folk who make the giant mining excavators.

How much rebuilding did the MLPs have to undergo after launches? All those rocket flames must take their toll.

I think one of the larger land vehicles is owned by a German corporation called ThyssenKrupp or something in that direction.

what is the outro music? Great video by the way.

They are still refurbishing a crawler right outside the VAB. It looks like they are working on the diesels, but this is just a guess, as they have one side of the crawler under tarps.

So the water suppression system acted to also damped the sound (pressure / vibration from the SRBs? I thought it was just for heat reasons?

My pet rock never came back, it can't get back, well it can but the vibrations sent good enough to move it, so 1mm per 12 century

Brilliant Scott keep em coming loving this new series

You forgot to add that the driver is required to wear a seatbelt despite going at just 1mph. Reference: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-84gGw4McDv4.html

Looks good, sounds good, but gives rubbish milage. lol. You'd never find a parking spot at Asda! :D nice vid.

0:27 I've seen this picture before and thought that was concept art for Homeworld.

This is such great news and to last 50 years that’s incredible that’s better than most cars by a long way personally I would love to see them being used again in the current launching of SpaceX crew dragon ships as a historical change over from back of the Apollo arrow to the era of launch is now and it was great seeing them used for the shuttle program refurbished but still great and terrific and I am running out of things to say

' very beautifully american saturn V and crawler transporter... keep up service with space shuttle and any large rockets

The crawlers are soooo big, the towers were removed for the shuttles, being refitted for the next project. Originally there were to be five launch sites for the crawlers to go to, only two remain.

Why does the road between the Vehicle Assembly Building and the launchpads have an incline?

Late comment not sure if you will even see this but I had heard that the gravel the crawlers move over was special for some reason and was only found in one spot or something unfortunately I can't remember where or when I heard that so I could have simply been lied to