The power of culture... or what Roman engineers have in common with the Space Shuttle

1. The Power of Culture
…or what does the Space Shuttle has in common with ancient Rome’s
engineers..

3. Railway tracks
• The space between two
tracks in the US is 4 feet
and 8,5 inches – a rather
strange number…

4. Why this particular space?
• Because the US railway was constructed in the same way that
it was constructed in Britain by British engineers who migrated
to America. They thought that it would be a good idea to use
the same locomotives as the ones used in Great Britain…
• And why then, did the British made their locomotives in this
way?
• Because the first railway tracks were constructed by the same
engineers that constructed the metro – and they used this
specific space.

5. Why that specific space?
• Because the metro was basically constructed by the same
people that made carriages, using the same tools and
methods.
And why carriages have this specific space?
• Because everywhere in Europe and in England, the roads were
full of gutters for the carriage wheels and therefore a different
space would damage all the time the wheels.

6. And why gutters have that specific space between
them?
• Because the first big roads in Europe were
constructed by the Romans with the intent of
moving easily their legions. The first carriages were
the war carriages of Romans and they had two
horses, side by side. The distance between the
horses was calculated in such a way that each horse
could ride without causing problem to the other.
• In order to ensure the stability of the carriage, the
wheels were not aligned with the traces of horses
while at the same time the wheels were not too far
from each other so as to avoid accidents when two
carriages would meet on the road.

7. So…
What all these have to do
with the Space Shuttle…?

8. Well...
• If you see the Shuttle on its launch pad you can easily spot the
two fuel tanks boosters on each side of the major fuel booster.
• Thiokol, the manufacturing company is located in Utah. They
would prefer to build those boosters bigger and larger – but
the booster are transported via railway to the launching site

9. • The railway connection
between the Thiokol factory in
Utal and Cape Canaveral, goes
through a tunnel at the Rocky
Mountains. Because this is an
old tunnel.. …
• Its space is about 4 feet and
8,5 inches…
• Enough for a Roman carriage
of two horses to pass or for a
Shuttle booster for that
matter..