67,000 lbs, too much to tow?

[RociPB]

This is one of the strangest “abandoned” things I have ever seen, just 30 minutes west of I-95 in Green Cove Springs, FL. It is surprising that its just chilling next to the river without any fences or anything to protect it. The tow bar is laying on the ground just behind my truck in the picture, it looks like you need an aircraft TUG to move it. I wanted to take a funny photo with the tow bar propped up on my hitch receiver, but the bar is a solid steel thing that must weigh 1,000 pounds and I couldn’t even budge it. Do you think a Lightning would be able to bump start that thing with the wheels on pavement? obviously this is all theoretical, I am not going to be the guy who damages a piece of American history by being stupid. But of course it got me thinking.

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[fordtruckman2003]

Looks like tires messed up so nothing is going to move it. Max speed 5 MPH and sure a pickup could do that if it was on pavement with good tires but not as it sits.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

How it got there, according to the internet.

Sitting out near the docks of Green Cove Springs is a full-scale model of one of the Space Shuttle’s external fuel tanks. Many people know it’s there, but few know how it got there or why it’s even still there.

According to SpaceFlight Insider, the tank is the was the third and final test tank for the Space Shuttle Program and was used for structures/stress testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama between 1977 and 1980.

Once it was no longer needed, it was put on display and then later moved to NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. In 1997, it was moved again to Kennedy Space Center where it was put on display for the public up until 2013.

After 30 years, the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011 with the final flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Upon closure of the program, NASA announced it was unloading space relics which included the external fuel tank. The initial winning bidder was located in California and decided that transporting it across the country was too much of a headache to deal with. The second winning bid was from the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum in Keystone Heights, Florida.

With a group of volunteers who provided a 200-foot barge, two tugboats, and cranes used to transport the tank between land and barge, the external fuel tank was transported from Kennedy Space Center to Green Cove Springs.

It was supposed to only be staged there for a few months where it was to be towed to its new home in Keystone Heights. Moving the tank proved to be a logistical nightmare due to road conditions and low-hanging electrical and telephone cables and wires that run across the streets. According to Bob Oehl, executive director of the museum, two state highways would have to be closed and multiple power lines would have to be taken down.

It was to be put on display outside the museum and eventually, a cover would be put over it to protect it from the elements. As of 2018 though, the fuel tank is still at the Port of Green Cove Springs.

 

[Polo08816]

This is one of the strangest “abandoned” things I have ever seen, just 30 minutes west of I-95 in Green Cove Springs, FL. It is surprising that its just chilling next to the river without any fences or anything to protect it. The tow bar is laying on the ground just behind my truck in the picture, it looks like you need an aircraft TUG to move it. I wanted to take a funny photo with the tow bar propped up on my hitch receiver, but the bar is a solid steel thing that must weigh 1,000 pounds and I couldn’t even budge it. Do you think a Lightning would be able to bump start that thing with the wheels on pavement? obviously this is all theoretical, I am not going to be the guy who damages a piece of American history by being stupid. But of course it got me thinking.

This reminds me of my Army days when a commercial bus got stuck in axle deep sand in one of our bivouac training areas. A Soldier suggested we use one of the Humvees to try to pull it out. I told him if the goal was to turn the Humvees transmission into kibbles and bits that would be a good idea. We ended up strapping the commercial bus to an LMTV. The LMTV pulled it out without breaking a sweat. The tow vehicle has to be of sufficient mass.

 

[RociPB]

Looks like tires messed up so nothing is going to move it. Max speed 5 MPH and sure a pickup could do that if it was on pavement with good tires but not as it sits.

Now that you mention the tire being messed up, I bet somebody tried to do what I was hoping to do, except they did it with a deflated tire. I have only ever taken a tire off the bead on trailers by trying to move it. It just sitting there won’t do that.

 

[RLTW175]

All I can see is how many briskets I could cook on that thing. And how many forests it would take to feed the fire.

 

[Je1279]

Just use a bottle jack and some ratchet straps on the dismounted tire then inflate it to the presumably ridiculous pressure and you will be good to go ?.

 

[Natetroknot]

Any decent sized farm tractor could yank that wherever flat tires and all

 

[UGADawg96]

I've often wondered about that thing. Thanks for the post and the wiki.

 

[FORDTEXAS]

towing that object will result in the ad shown below..

 

[Cobra129]

This is one of the strangest “abandoned” things I have ever seen, just 30 minutes west of I-95 in Green Cove Springs, FL. It is surprising that its just chilling next to the river without any fences or anything to protect it. The tow bar is laying on the ground just behind my truck in the picture, it looks like you need an aircraft TUG to move it. I wanted to take a funny photo with the tow bar propped up on my hitch receiver, but the bar is a solid steel thing that must weigh 1,000 pounds and I couldn’t even budge it. Do you think a Lightning would be able to bump start that thing with the wheels on pavement? obviously this is all theoretical, I am not going to be the guy who damages a piece of American history by being stupid. But of course it got me thinking.

Maybe fill it with Helium?????

This is one of the strangest “abandoned” things I have ever seen, just 30 minutes west of I-95 in Green Cove Springs, FL. It is surprising that its just chilling next to the river without any fences or anything to protect it. The tow bar is laying on the ground just behind my truck in the picture, it looks like you need an aircraft TUG to move it. I wanted to take a funny photo with the tow bar propped up on my hitch receiver, but the bar is a solid steel thing that must weigh 1,000 pounds and I couldn’t even budge it. Do you think a Lightning would be able to bump start that thing with the wheels on pavement? obviously this is all theoretical, I am not going to be the guy who damages a piece of American history by being stupid. But of course it got me thinking.

Maybe fill it with helium to lighten the load!!! And if it floats away, maybe some Air Force pilot will call in a UFO sighting...

 

[dogboye]

It does kinda look like a giant TicTac.

 

[powerboatr]

that was my guess about something from nasa
they need a sky crane helicopter to lift it and fly it into the museum

great pic

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