NASA Solid Rocket Booster Aft Skirt Car

These are N scale 3D printable files for the NASA Solid Rocket Booster Aft Skirt Transportation Cars NLAX 170 and NLAX 171 — two of the most unique and specialized railroad cars ever built in North America, purpose-designed to transport components of the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters and operated on NASA's own railroad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Only two of these cars were ever built, making NLAX 170 and NLAX 171 among the rarest railroad equipment subjects in the world.

The Aft Skirt Transportation Cars were purpose-built to carry the massive aft skirt assemblies of the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) — the structural base sections of the SRBs that housed the rocket nozzles and connected the boosters to the External Tank and launch platform. These components required specialized handling and transportation between NASA's processing facilities at Kennedy Space Center, and the NLAX cars were engineered specifically for that task, operating on the narrow-gauge railroad infrastructure that served the Space Shuttle processing complex. As purpose-built equipment for a single, unique mission, they represent the intersection of two of humanity's greatest engineering traditions: the railroad and the space program.

All proceeds from the sale of this model go directly toward the restoration of NLAX 171, which is currently preserved at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida. The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is one of Florida's premier railroad preservation institutions, and the restoration of NLAX 171 will ensure that this extraordinary piece of both railroad and space exploration history is preserved for future generations. Every purchase of this model is a direct contribution to that effort.

After purchase, your digital files will be available for immediate direct download from your order confirmation. These files are for Personal Use Only — if you are interested in a commercial license, please contact us.

Please allow a few weeks for 3D printing and shipping. Decals are shipped separately — please allow some additional time for decal printing and shipping after ordering.