Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Crawler Transporters, Launcher Road, East of Kennedy Parkway North, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL

Significance: The Crawler Transporters (Crawlers) were listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on January 21, 2000. Originally nominated in the context of the Apollo Program, ca. 1961 through 1975, the Crawlers have since gained importance in the context of the Space Shuttle Program, ca. 1969 to 2010. They are significant at the national level under NRHP Criterion A in the areas of Transportation and Space Exploration, and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering. Because the Crawlers have achieved significance within the past fifty years, Criteria Consideration G applies. The Crawlers are unique and are used only as transporters for space vehicles. They have provided continuous service to the nation's space programs since the 1960s, and today play a vital role in the Space Shuttle Program by moving the Shuttle to the pad in preparation for launch. Under Criterion C, the Crawlers were constructed specifically for the task of transporting assembled space flight vehicles from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the launch pad. As such, each Crawler was designed to carry a weight of over twelve million pounds, exclusive of its own weight of six million pounds. In addition, the vehicles are equipped with a leveling system to keep the Shuttle vertical during the trip to the launch pad.
Survey number: HAER FL-8-11-C
Building/structure dates: 1966 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 99001643