MOBILITY INVESTIGATION OF THE CRAWLERWAY COMPATIBILITY FOR THE ARES V CRAWLER TRANSPORTER

摘要

The equations and results used to evaluate the mobility performance of wheeled concept vehicles being considered to replace the existing NASA tracked crawler are discussed. In 2009, the Ares V was the next planned manned rocket mission to the Moon and Mars. The Ares V would be transported from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad along approximately 3.5 miles of crawlerway using a Crawler/Transporter (CT). The CT, initially designed for a total weight of 8,440 metric tons, is anticipated to weigh 11,433 metric tons when carrying the new payload. NASA considered CT concepts that included wheeled vehicles with widely different wheel sizes, spacings, and numbers. The mobility of these concept vehicles was of concern to NASA, since the crawlerway consists of rounded river rock designed for the existing tracked CT. The wheeled transporter would be required to navigate a 5 percent grade and several turns while proceeding to the launch pad. This paper will present a modified coarse-grain numeric used to compare motion resistance, drawbar pull, and turning forces of the different concept vehicles.