Equipment adapted for the job
In the Space industry very large items, always fragile and sometimes very dangerous, have to be handled and moved. Much equipment and machinery has to be adapted or made to order to handle these items.
The Antonov
Bigger than a Boeing 747, the Antonov is an enormous aircraft, often chartered by satellite customers. It is very practical in that it can be front or rear loaded. Either the nose is opened and the aircraft is lowered as the double landing gear retracts into the fuselage so unloading can be done by truck using a ramp, or the rear fuselage opens and Antonov’s four 5-tonne mobile or travelling cranes disembark the cargo directly into a truck parked below.
The MN Colibri and the MN Toucan, the Ariane 5 cargoes
These twin ships belonging to the Compagnie Maritime Nantaise were specially built to freight large-sized elements on deck or in their holds. They have a ‘Roll On, Roll Off’ (RORO) design, for simple drive-on loading/unloading. The stern is a large door that opens downwards onto the dockside making the boat a large hangar with direct access for trucks. The Colibri can adjust its height to suit the dockside using a ballast system, and the deck has a crane for autonomous disembarking of containers onto the dockside. To reach
The Cometto AIT200 *
The Cometto AIT200 is a truck that transports booster sections, full or empty, between various Factory buildings on a route of about 20 km in the UPG and from the UPG to the BIP, with on average, 6 trips. In the future, the truck will also transfer the Vega launcher from BIP to the launch complex.
Dimensions: 15 x 5.5 m / Tare weight: 72 t / Carrying capacity: 200 t
Engine power: 420 HP at 1,800 rpm
Translation: 2 hydraulic pumps driving 8 hydraulic motors for 14 half-axles with 4 wheels, i.e. 56 wheels, with 90° gimbal steering for docking
3 speed ranges: fast at 11 kph, loaded at 7 kph and docking at 1.5 kph
Fitted with automatic control of load bed level and trim.
The Cometto AIT40 Tank carrier*
Its mission is to ensure the safe transport of 1,800-gallon tanks of propellant mix between various buildings of the UPG. A full tank weights about 20 tonnes. During the casting of one Ariane 5 segment, each tank will be moved 6 times between two successive buildings , i.e. 60 movements per tank per segment! Regulus only requires two! Note that the full tanks are hot and must be kept between 50 and 70°C, which accounts for the two metal curtains on the carrier in case of rain showers.
Dimensions (L x w x h): 10 x 3.95 x 4.80 m / Tare weight: 29 t / Carrying capacity: 40 t
Engine power: 235 HP at 2,200 rpm
Translation: 1 hydraulic pump driving 4 hydraulic motors for 4 half-axles with 4 wheels
2 operating speeds: fast at 15 kph and slow at 1.5 kph
The Cometto AIT50 Tipper*
The tipper positions Ariane’s S2 and S3 segments vertically before their transfer to the casting pits in the UPG. It also enables the filled, S1 front segments to be turned upside down for X-ray tests. It is also used at the Test Bench for Solid propellant boosters to retrieve segments from ARTA launches and more recently from the P80, for evaluation by the UPG.
Dimensions: 15 x 5.40 m / Tare weight: 46 t / Carrying capacity: 32.5 t
Engine power: 235 HP at 2200 rpm
Translation: 1 hydraulic pump driving 4 hydraulic motors for 4 half-axles with 4 wheels
2 speeds: fast at 14 kph and slow at 0.5 kph
* These three vehicles belong to ESA and have been entrusted to Regulus. They were all handed over in 1991, when the UPG was established. As they cannot turn 180°, they all have two driver’s cabs. They all have a fire detection system in their engines as well as a water filter for exhaust gases.
Cometto Trailers for RSMs
One week before Launch Day, Air Liquide Spatial Guyane delivers 5 RSMs (Semi-Mobile Tanks) of liquid oxygen and 5 RSMs of liquid hydrogen to the launch zone and then returns them to the factory after the launcher has been fuelled. The 3km journey takes place at 5kph using two trailers towed by a Man truck. The trailers were made to order in 1992, and belong to ALSG. The 128 tyres are inflated with nitrogen for a better pressure stability.
Dimensions: 28 x 3 m, consisting of an 84 m² bed / Tare weight: 50 t / Carrying capacity: 240 t
Translation: entirely hydraulic system for 16 axles of 8 wheels
Requires two drivers – front and back
The MAN
Operated by Endel under the responsibility of Arianespace, the famous truck tows the launcher table, the launcher and the Technical backup power unit, altogether weighing 2,000 tonnes, on rails! By the way, there are two trucks, in case one fails.
Dimensions: 8 x 2.5 m / Tare weight: 16 t
Fully loaded weight during operations: 32 t
Truck with 4 driven axles, i.e. an 8 x 8 with inter and intra-axle locking
16 gears: 8 high and 8 low
Special equipements entrusted to CNES/CSG maintenance
Incomplete list: the twin-cab Nicolas tractor, small internal combustion and electric towing tractors , a 1941 track tamper for rail maintenance, port equipment like the gantry crane for retrieving EAPs in Pariacabo Port, the optical cable dispenser to maintain the supply of information to the customer satellite , and very occasionally, the STNA (Station Transportable et Navigable Ariane) trailer and the Ariane half-nose fairing trailer.| Previous: Transporting the launcher |
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