Motorists traveling on the Eastern Shore and tomorrow morning could see something a little out of the ordinary.
A 95-foot-long tractor-trailer will be transporting a full-size mockup of the first stage of Orbital Sciences' Taurus II rocket from the Wilmington, Delaware port to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The actual rocket stage for the Taurus II is currently being built in the Ukraine.
The trip will begin in Wilmington at 9 p.m. Wednesday and the rig is expected to cross the Delaware-Maryland border at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The Wednesday evening trip will be trial run of the actual trip which is currently schedule for August 20 of this year.
Sights such as this could become more regular in the future as Governor McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly have promised to make Wallops Island the east coasts next Cape Canaveral.
A 95-foot-long tractor-trailer will be transporting a full-size mockup of the first stage of Orbital Sciences' Taurus II rocket from the Wilmington, Delaware port to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The actual rocket stage for the Taurus II is currently being built in the Ukraine.
The trip will begin in Wilmington at 9 p.m. Wednesday and the rig is expected to cross the Delaware-Maryland border at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The Wednesday evening trip will be trial run of the actual trip which is currently schedule for August 20 of this year.
Sights such as this could become more regular in the future as Governor McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly have promised to make Wallops Island the east coasts next Cape Canaveral.
6 comments:
I wonder why it's taking them 12 hours to drive less than 100 miles?
100 miles in 12 hours is pretty remarkable when you consider what they are transporting and how big it is. The damn thing is 16 feet in diameter which means it won't fit under most traffic lights and other obstructions. The lights have to be turned 90 degrees so it will pass by, some traffic signs will have to be temporarily moved, some power lines will have to be lifted, all kinds of neat problems to tackle. That's why this is a practice run; to see if they have planned for all contingencies and what other complications might arise.
Thanks for the explanation, ANON 8:36. I didn't stop to think all the logistics involved.
The rig arrived in Pocomoke about 11:30 this morning and is making theleft turn from 113 onto 13. There are lots of State Police, flag cars, engineers and surveyors, all taking measurements and photos. The things is just a huge metal pipe frame with the same outside dimensions as the actual booster; there is nothing inside the frame. Still, the sucker is HUGE, about 100 feet long and at least 16 feet high. With the truck tractor and other things it's probably 130 feet over all. It was very interesting watching the driver try to make that turn.
Thankyou so much for giving me the location! I just got a call that traffic is stopped at the Md/Va line at this time. No south bound traffic.
Hoping to have some photos of some kind in a little while.
Can you imagine what someone that has no idea of what is going on is thinking???
This is really a great post i love port canaveral transportation.
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