Kong
Kong is a Liebherr LR 11350 crawler crane supplied by Fagioli. It is one of the most powerful crawler cranes in the world. Kong is mainly used to stack the prefabricated OLIT segments and mounting the launch tower related ground support equipment.
| Quick Stats | |
|---|---|
| Color | Red, Yellow and Green |
| Max. load capacity | 1350mt / 1500ust |
| Max. hoist height | 220m / 720ft |
| Max. radius | 164m / 540ft |
| Current Configuration (10/3/2021-...) | |
| Configuration | LR11350-P1800 PDB2 |
| Main boom | P (Powerboom) 108m / 354ft |
| Derrick | D 42m / 137ft |
| Max. lift capacity | 775mt / 854ust |
| Third Configuration (7/10/2021 - 10/3/2021) | |
| Configuration | LR11350-P1800 PDWB2 |
| Main boom | P (Powerboom) 108m / 354ft |
| Luffing fly jib | W 54m / 177ft |
| Derrick | D 42m / 137ft |
| Max. lift capacity | 294mt / 324ust |
| Second Configuration (6/4/2021 - 7/10/2021) | |
| Configuration | LR11350-P1800 PDWB2 |
| Main boom | P (Powerboom) 102m / 334ft |
| Luffing fly jib | W 48m / 157ft |
| Derrick | D 42m / 137ft |
| Max. lift capacity | 358mt / 394ust |
| First Configuration (5/21/2021-6/4/2021) | |
| Configuration | LR11350-P1800 PDB2 |
| Main boom | P (Powerboom) 102m / 334ft |
| Derrick | D 42m / 137ft |
| Max. lift capacity | 823mt / 907ust |
In its first configuration Kong was only able to reach a height of 102m. For stacking the complete OLIT, they have added a luffing jib, which was later removed again for some further work in less height.
You may hear the name Frankencrane, mainly from NSF (the SpaceX employees cal it Frankencrane too?) because of it's bizzare colour. It is the same crane, just an other name.
If you wonder, why they change the counterweights very often: for lowering the boom to the ground, they need more CW than for lifting an OLIT section. The hook at the end of Kong's boom has a mass of 24mt / 26ust, and the hook is as it is lifted at a downrange of about 120m. at 96m Kong can lift only about 115mt...
An FAA document was released, because of the height the crane will reach: https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=474117314&row=10
Activities of Kong
| Nr. | Date | What? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | April 2. 2021 | Delivery and start of assembling of Kong NSF video |
| 2. | May 21. 2021 | Erection of the crane |
| 3. | May 24. 2021 | 1st Lift of Kong was the OLIT Section 2 |
| 4. | May 28. 2021 | 2nd Lift: OLIT Section 3 |
| 5. | June 2. 2021 | the hook was unhooked for the following extension of the boom |
| 6. | June 4. 2021 | the old boom tip was removed and a new one as well as two jib struts were added |
| 7. | June 5. 2021 | the two struts were risen |
| 8. | June 6. 2021 | the 6 segments and the top of the 48m / 157ft luffing jib were added |
| 9. | June 10. 2021 | the boom was first slightly lifted to hook on the hook and then fully lifted. |
| 10. | June 13. 2021 | 3. Lift: OLIT Section 4 |
| 11. | June 16. 2021 | 4. Lift: OLIT Section 5 |
| 12. | June 19. 2021 | 5. Lift: The ADS 30Q hoist was lifted and mounted to the side of the base of the OLIT. |
| 13. | June 27. 2021 | 6. Lift: OLIT Section 6 |
| 14. | July 1. 2021 | 7. Lift: OLIT Section 7 |
| 15. | July 3. 2021 | The boom was lowered to extend the boom for lifting the 8. OLIT Section |
| 16. | July 7. 2021 | The luffing jib was disconnected for the extension of the main boom. |
| 17. | July 8. 2021 | The tip of the main boom was disconnected to extend the main boom. |
| 18. | July 10. 2021 | A new 12m segment was placed between the existing boom and the previously removed tip, leading to a main boom length of 108m. |
| 19. | July 11. 2021 | The luffing jib, which is now extended to 54m, was mounted back on to the main boom and the main boom was lifted slightly
to connect the hook to the boom. In the late evening, Kong raised its boom completely. |
| 20. | July 18. 2021 | 8. Lift: OLIT Section 8. |
| 21. | July 28. 2021 | 9. Lift: OLIT Section 8b/9. The last Section, lifted at 6am CDT with a american flag attached to it. |
| 22. | July 31. 2021 | 10. Lift: Kong and Buucky lifted the OLT (Orbital L(a)unch Table) together on to the pillars. |
| 23. | August 4. 2021 | 11. Lift: Booster 4 was lifted on to the OLT after its historical ride dow the highway 4. |
| 24. | August 6. 2021 | 12. Lift: Ship 20 was lifted on to Booster 4 for fit check and creating the ludicrous combination 4-20 of Booster and Ship for the first time. Only ana hour later, S20 was lifted down on to the transport stand again. |
| 25. | August 10. 2021 | 13. Lift: Booster 4 was removed fro the OLT again in preparation to move back to the building site, where some final work will be done to get B4 ready for some serious testing. |
| 26. | August 28. 2021 | 14. Lift: The QD (Quick Disconnect) arm was flipped with the help from two other smaller cranes, prior to its lift on to the OLIT. |
| 27. | August 29. 2021 | 15. Lift: The QD arm was lifted on to the OLIT, where the crew mounted it on to the hinges, which were added a while ago. |
| 28. | September 8. 2021 | 16. Lift: B4 was lifted on to the OLM again, after it was worked on in the HB and moved back to the launch site. |
| 29. | September 12. 2021 | Kong lowered its boom in preperation of the torpical storm Nicholas |
| 30. | September 14. 2021 | Kong raised its boom again after Nicholas passed over |
| 31. | September 23. 2021 | 17. Lift: The QD arm extension was lifted and mounted onto the QD arm. |
| 32. | September 25. 2021 | 18. Lift: Booster 4 was lifted of the orbital launch mount, probably tho make room for the catching arm installation. |
| 33. | September 30. 2021 | Kong lowered its boom |
| 34. | October 1. 2021 | the flying jib was removed |
| 35. | October 3. 2021 | Kong raised its boom after a reconfiguration, most likely for the installation of the catching arm carriage and the catching arms. Speculations are, that it had to be reconfigured for reaching under the overhang at the top of the tower for the carriage installation. |
| 36. | October 6. 2021 | The Chopstick carriage was flipped with the help of Grover and then placed on to the red support structure, which was built earlier. |
| 37. | October 9. 2021 | 19. Lift: The first Chopstick was lifted over to the Chopstick carriage to preassemble the catching arm structure in order to install it on to the tower. |
| 38. | October 19. 2021 | Mechazilla (the Chopstick aparatus) was lifted slightely for leveling and prepearing it for the final lift. |
| 39. | October 20. 2021 | 20. Lift: The Mechazilla catching arm mechanism was lifted and mounted on to the sleds, which were already at the OLIT. |
| 40. | October 27. 2021 | On September 30. 2021 Kong laid down its boom for the last time on Starbase. After nearly 7 months of hard and complex work, Kong has started to be disassembled. |
| 41. | November 5. 2021 | The cabine and winches left the launchsite. Only the tracks are left but not long anymore. |
| 42. | November 6. 2021 | Dear Kong, it was an honor to be able to watch your impressive, physically nearly impossible and immensely important work. You did a great job and gave your best, to help build up Starbase as fast as it gets. Alongside to Bluto, you reached an iconic Crane-Hero state, which will never be forgotten. You will forever be in our minds. |
Minor lifts, like the elevators segments and scaffolding arent in this table, even if they where the ones which toke the longest time (like on June 28., when a elevator Segment was lifted in to the 6th segment of the OLIT and shortly after that it was removed again and lowered all the way back down to the ground. This took over 1.5 hour).