When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needed to repave their Space Shuttle Crawlerway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Port Canaveral, Florida, contractors, construction companies and engineers across the country began searching for suppliers that could meet all of the material specifications, time constraints, and transport methods that were crucial to the completion of the job.
From CYDI’s unique four-state distribution terminal network to Quality Control Technicians and the company’s Rail Logistics Department, it took a CYDI team of no less than twenty individuals to ensure that all aspects of this job were being executed properly each day in order to meet NASA’s 5-month deadline.
The team put together an intricate and precise logistics plan to ensure that the material would reach the site efficiently and on schedule throughout the project. Once there, the entire 2.5 mile-long crawlerway had to be razed of old material and replaced with the new smooth rounded gravel that limits friction caused by the weight of the crawler and Space Shuttle as well as the turning radius required to navigate the path. To ensure NASA’s specifications for two different specific sizes of gravel with definitive requirements (hardness, roundness, soundness, etc.), weekly testing of the material became an imperative part of the project.
