# What is 1) the most massive and 2) largest \[dimens.\] object ever moved by man? (Rocket, iceberg...) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724 "2019-07-27T18:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/1 "2019-07-27T18:51:25Z")
Hello all. Query has probably been asked before, but perhaps not as here with these variants. I believe the answer to “most massive” has always been Saturn V, and I’ll get back to that in a moment. 1. The other variant is simply on square foot coverage, so to speak. Ie, there are connected organisms are actually one organism, but spread out over vast areas. Not the most massive, but if transported, they would be a contender for my variation. 2. The first part of query in this old standby of a list, altered a bit–hell, an iceberg is a thing, and hasn’t somebody somewhere tugged one from point a to b?–and included because I’d like someone to rationalize the question better with real physics knowledge. But then, a question for physicists A) the energy of a nuke explosion is a mass equivalent, so under these terms a nuke could be added to the list. Right? Obviously with a broadened set of allowable objects than the old standby list. B) back to the fave Saturn V. First off, I think the cited event should not be transporting that thing from the hangar (“the world’s largest…”) on the crawler (“the world’s largest…”) but the greater applied thrust at launch. That is, the event of that stack (far far heavier, of course, than unfurled) off the ground. I’m not saying this to be difficult, but to try to understand the simplest idea of the rocket equation. Furthermore, following up on this idea–actually, what prompted the whole line of thought for this post, the [NASA SLS](https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html) [NASA home; Wiki is [here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System)] soon will have a thrust 8.8 M lbs, and the Block II configs 11.9 M lbs, both of which blow Saturn V out of the water (so to speak). The mass of the Orion stack will be less than the Saturn V stack, but shouldn’t it (won’t it) take its rightful place as #1 on the “most massive thing moved” list? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/2 "2019-07-27T18:57:41Z")
Clickbait site has the [Troll A natural gas platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_A_platform) as the most massive object moved by man, at 1.2 million tons (ballasted). Basically a gigantic concrete shell that an oil/gas production platform was strapped to the top of. [Seawise Giant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawise_Giant), fully loaded with crude, had to be up there too. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/3 "2019-07-27T19:08:14Z")
Cx: > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > … > > B) back to the fave Saturn V. First off, I think the cited event should not be transporting that thing from the hangar (“the world’s largest…”) on the crawler (“the world’s largest…”) but the greater applied thrust at launch. That is, the event of that stack (far far heavier, of course, than [del]unfurled[/del]) off the ground. > … Thinking of the flag :). Fueled. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/4 "2019-07-27T19:20:29Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > A) the energy of a nuke explosion is a mass equivalent, so under these terms a nuke could be added to the list. Right? Obviously with a broadened set of allowable objects than the old standby list. If you stop to think about it he mass equivalent of a nuclear bomb explosion is only a fraction of the mass of the original bomb. So it won’t be close to being the most massive. In fact I’m pretty sure there were conventional bombs that out-weighed the most massive nuclear bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/5 "2019-07-27T19:27:05Z")
Yeah, just had a sobering thought about that whole line of thought in my post, mainly prompted (wrongly) because the last few weeks I’ve been crazy into NASA stuff: my proposition re the SLS stack, like my throwaway thought about the nuke, devolves into a “how much energy has man ever created and released in one go”–which is an interesting question also, but is not pertinent to this idea of enhancing the usual query about mass. - Emily Litella voice\* …Never mind… [still hope for the dimensional top-10 list, though] [and still sticking to the full stack launch of Saturn V, not the crawl to the pad] ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/6 "2019-07-27T19:30:04Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > HWhat is 1) the most massive and 2) largest [dimens.] object ever moved by man? (Rocket, iceberg…) 1)the most massive - ( Already covered earlier) would be a one of the oil or gas platforms 1. largest [dimens.] object ever moved by man - May easily be fishing nets pulled by trawlers. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/7 "2019-07-27T19:30:19Z")
First, are you asking what is the heaviest thing (mass) ever moved by man? Second, are you asking what is the largest thing ever moved by man? Weight vs size, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/8 "2019-07-27T20:14:54Z")
[Jupiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist#Explanation). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/9 "2019-07-27T20:44:15Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > … > > 1. largest [dimens.] object ever moved by man - May easily be fishing nets pulled by trawlers. Interesting… ---
**Author:** ![BeardOfBees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@BeardOfBees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeardOfBees)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/10 "2019-07-27T20:49:59Z")
Your mom. (Sorry, that was too easy.) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/11 "2019-07-27T20:51:17Z")
Darren, I think you have a winner for both questions. The OP doesn’t seem to care how far the objects have been moved, just that humans have moved them. There’ve been at least 7 space probes that have done graviational slingshots at Jupiter, possibly more. Each one has changed Jupiter’s orbit by some very small amount. Until someone figures out how to do a slingshot maneuver at the Sun, that answer is going to stand. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/12 "2019-07-27T20:58:31Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Darren, I think you have a winner for both questions. The OP doesn’t seem to care how far the objects have been moved, just that humans have moved them. There’ve been at least 7 space probes that have done graviational slingshots at Jupiter, possibly more. Each one has changed Jupiter’s orbit by some very small amount. > > Until someone figures out how to do a slingshot maneuver at the Sun, that answer is going to stand. Believe it or not, _I_ was going to post a similar case in OP, but retreated to avoid scorn and calumny from the usual suspects. Consider both of yourselves scorned and calumniated. An interpretive variation, on the bang-for-buck mass-movement (aka the Newtonian List, as well as the Archimedes Lever one) I was going to suggest was the causative one: eg, Toss a rock (minor mass movement)–\>Start an avalanche. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/13 "2019-07-27T21:02:33Z")
Hey I got to say “calumniated” for the first time. Yet again, Thanks SD! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/14 "2019-07-27T21:56:14Z")
I think the tallest brick building ever moved is Cape Hatteras lighthouse , 210 feet tall > **[Cape Hatteras Lighthouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Hatteras_Lighthouse)** > > Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse’s semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and famous. It is often ranked high on lists of most beautiful, and famous lighthouses in the US. > The Outer Banks are a group of barrier islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. Atlantic currents in... some people thought the move would destroy it but the move worked just as it was planned ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/15 "2019-07-27T22:01:46Z")
Hey, if you don’t want an answer, you need to say so in the OP. And I snear at your calumnifications. BTW, slingshot maneuvers are no different in principle than using levers. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/16 "2019-07-28T03:12:42Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Hey, if you don’t want an answer, you need to say so in the OP. And I snear at your calumnifications. > BTW, slingshot maneuvers are no different in principle than using levers. Yes which is why I said it. Consider yourself counter-snorn. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/17 "2019-07-28T04:34:10Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [Jupiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist#Explanation). Nah. [The Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe#Trajectory) is much more massive and larger. ---
**Author:** ![joema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@joema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joema)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/18 "2019-07-28T11:23:29Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > …I believe the answer to “most massive” has always been Saturn V…an iceberg is a thing, and hasn’t somebody somewhere tugged one from point a to b?.. It would appear the most massive object moved by man on earth would be an iceberg. Icebergs up to about 4 million tons have been towed to prevent them striking oil rigs: > **[The Many Failures and Few Successes of Zany Iceberg Towing Schemes](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/the-many-failures-and-few-successes-of-zany-iceberg-towing-schemes/243364/)** > > For almost two hundred years, big thinkers have wanted to drag frozen freshwater from the poles Detailed plans have been made for towing icebergs up to 125 million tons to supply fresh water to areas needing it, although this hasn’t been done yet. The world’s heaviest freight train masses about 100,000 tons total, however this is much less than the worlds heaviest oil tanker which massed about 646,000 long tons (656,000 metric tons): [Seawise Giant - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawise_Giant) The heaviest floating liquified natural gas platform is also about 600,000 tons, but I’m not sure that counts as a moving object unless it is towed when at full displacement. It is probably towed or steered at lighter weight: [Prelude FLNG - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_FLNG) On this scale the 3,100 ton Saturn V is positively tiny. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/19 "2019-07-28T12:02:23Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Nah. [The Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe#Trajectory) is much more massive and larger. The closest it’s come to the sun so far is 24.4 million km. I’m not sure this is fair, unless we’re going to count every spacecraft that has ever left the Earth’s sphere of influence, all of which would have had some kind of effect on the sun’s position, even if inappreciable. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724/20 "2019-07-28T12:06:22Z")
(Pardon me if I get some stuff wrong about the OP. I find it hard to parse.) Re: Saturn V. The Portland Fremont Bridge center span weighs twice as much as a loaded Saturn V rocket. It was floated to under its eventual position and lifted by rods into place 1973. So moving bigger stuff wasn’t an issue even at the time of the Saturn V. As to thrust/bombs and such. Hmm. What? The Tsar Bomba was the biggest nuke. It had to have moved a whole _lot_ of air around. While the mass might not have been that great, the volume shifted had to be pretty decent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-1-the-most-massive-and-2-largest-dimens-object-ever-moved-by-man-rocket-iceberg/837724.md?page=2)