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To: XBob
Several times a few years back, they broke part way out

Hmmmm. I usually heard about trouble areas of anything Shuttle related... Must have been rather recent. Sorry to hear the news.

65 posted on 12/09/2003 12:02:05 PM PST by Gracey (NASA - once the PREMIERE leading edge agency)
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To: Gracey
the crawlers are not in very good shape - they are now about 40 years old, and have cacked blocks and pistons, and much deferred maintenance.

I don't know if they still have it, but I worked with the programmers and created a report once, listing all the deferred maintenance and parts status.

They are indeed huge - one link (shoe) in a tread weighs in at 2000 lbs.

here is a true funny story - about 15 years ago, at KSC they decided to clean up and get rid of some un-necessary parts in the warehouse. They had some 'crawler shoes' that had never been used in many years, so they sent them to salvage. Well, the salvage list goes out to other government agencies, so they can have a chance to get/use some of the things before they are sent to junk or auction.

And lo and behold, a place in West Virginia decided to pull them out, and they were shipped to West Virginia, to a government home for unwed mothers, who thought they could use some 'crawler shoes'. True story.

Kennedy Space Center logistics didn't realize what they had done until they got an inquiry from West Virginia, as to what to do with them. So, they decided, as they were no longer manufacturered, anywhere in the world, they should be brought back and put back in the warehouse.
72 posted on 12/10/2003 6:36:12 AM PST by XBob
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