The NASA Crawlerway: Creating a Firm Foundation… Literally!

The NASA Crawlerway is a 4.2-mile path connecting the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B and was originally designed to support the weight of the launch vehicles during the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Today, NASA is preparing for the Artemis I mission focused on taking the first woman and next man to the moon. The Crawlerway must be ready to support the weight of the Space Launch System (SLS), which is the heaviest known load in the world and nearly 30% heavier than any previous NASA program loads.

Jones Edmunds has been working with NASA and our team of geotechnical experts to develop and implement a conditioning program that will prepare the Crawlerway to support the massive Crawler Transporter (CT) AND the massive weight of the SLS rocket, the Orion capsule, and the mobile launcher. After 6 years of planning and preparation, Kim Rivera, a Jones Edmunds Vice President and Department Manager, said, “Crawlerway conditioning has finally begun! We monitored the Crawlerway foundation with the first CT move of 22 million pounds this week. We have a lot of hard, but exciting work ahead of us, and we are ready for the challenge. In a few short months, we will be monitoring the foundation with a CT roll at 26.5 million pounds, which will be the heaviest moving load in the world!”

Kim was supported by Jones Edmunds Associates Dale Gerber, Thomas Le Blanc, Jodie McGregor, Steve Messick, Nicola Staton, Lee Stirling, and Doug Toth as well as internationally recognized geotechnical experts, Dr. George Filz and Dr. David Crapps.

More about this exciting project can be found HERE.

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