A ground support technician applies heat to a casing as other technicians monitor the progress.

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a ground support technician applies heat to a casing that contains an old bearing on the B truck tread of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2, as other technicians monitor the progress. The bearing will separate and out for removal. New roller bearing assemblies will be installed on CT-2.

Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis