Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
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Launch Complex Plan - 1963
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Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations. NASA began modifying LC-39 in 2007 to accommodate Project Constellation.[1][2] Launches from LC-39 are supervised from the Launch Control Center, located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the launch pads. LC-39 is one of several launch sites that share the Eastern Test Range.
Launch Complex 39 is composed of the two launch pads, the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the Crawlerway (the route used by crawler-transporters to carry Mobile Launch Platforms between the VAB and the pads), the Orbiter Processing Facility buildings, the Launch Control Center (which contains the firing rooms), a news facility (famous for the iconic countdown clock seen in television coverage and photos), and various logistical and operational support buildings.[3]
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History
Early years
The first development on this site was in 1890 when a few wealthy graduates of Harvard University purchased the 18,000 acres (73 km2) property for one dollar per acre. Very nearly on the site of 39A they constructed a three-story mahogany clubhouse with twenty rooms for members and guests. The club featured a large dining room, wine cellar, trophy room and plenty of storage for arms and ammunition. Atop the lodge, there was a spectacular view of both ocean and wildlife that flocked to the surrounding marsh. During the 1920s, P. E. Studebaker, son of the automobile magnate, built a small casino at De Soto Beach eight miles (13 km) north of the Canaveral lighthouse to lure buyers to the site where plans were being developed for an elaborate resort city, complete with water, sewer, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping. Also, the Playa Linda Development Corporation sought buyers to their 'proposed' development of 8,000 lots of 0.25 acres (1,000 m2) advertised as the "greatest beach development north of Miami."[4] Prior to the construction of the complex, State Road A1A ran east of the complex. Along this rural ocean road was United States Coast Guard Station Chester Shoals built in 1885.
In 1948, the Navy transferred the former Banana River Naval Air Station located south of the Cape Canveral, to the Air Force for use in testing captured German V-2 rockets.[5] The site's location on the East Florida coast was ideal for this purpose in that launches would be over the ocean, away from populated areas. This site became the Joint Long Range Proving Ground in 1949, and was renamed Patrick Air Force Base in 1950. The Air Force annexed part of Cape Canaveral to the North in 1951, forming the Air Force Missile Test Center, the future Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Missile and rocketry testing and development would take place here through the 1950s.[6]
NASA arrives
NASA was founded in 1958, and the early NASA missions, including the Mercury and Gemini programs, were launched from pads on CCAFS.[7]
In 1961, President Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. The announcement of the lunar program led to an expansion of operations from the Cape to the adjacent Merritt Island.[8] NASA began acquisition of land in 1962, taking title to 131 square miles (340 km2) by outright purchase and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). In July 1962, the site was named the Launch Operations Center. At the time, the highest numbered launch pad on CCAFS was Launch Complex 37; when the lunar launch complex was designed, it was designated as Launch Complex 39.
The initial design of the launch complex contained five pads that were evenly spaced 8,700 feet (2,700 m) apart to avoid damage in the event of a pad explosion. Three were scheduled for construction (shown) and two reserved for future use (one shown). The numbering of the pads at the time was from north to south, with the northernmost being LC39A, and the southern being LC39C. LC39A was never built, and LC39C became LC39A in 1963. With today's numbering, LC39C would be north of LC39B. LC39D (visible as an outline to the left side of the plan below and right) would have been due west of LC39C. LC39E (not shown) would be due north of the mid-distance between LC39C and LC39D, with LC39E forming the top of a triangle, and equidistant from LC39C and LC39D. The crawler way was built with the additional pads in mind. This is the reason the crawler way turns as it heads to Pad-B; continuing straight from that turn would have led to the additional pads.[9] The accompanying map also shows the unbuilt Nuclear Assembly Building (NAB).
The pads were first used for launches of the Saturn V rocket for the Project Apollo moon missions, and later for Saturn 1B rockets for the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. The original structure of the pads was remodeled for the needs of the Space Shuttle, starting with LC-39A after the last Saturn V launch, which carried Skylab in 1973, and in 1977 for LC-39B after the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. During the Apollo era these were just launchpads - the umbilical/service towers were attached to the launch platform—the only modification made was the so-called "milkstool" which allowed the Saturn IB rocket (for all manned Skylab missions, the unlaunched Skylab Rescue, and ASTP) to use the Saturn V launch tower. For the Shuttle, the pad has a fixed tower (left over from the Apollo-Saturn era) and a rotating service platform, used to protect the Shuttle Orbiter and to install vertically-handled payloads into the payload bay.[1][10] Current NASA plans for Project Constellation calls for the reverting of both pads to a state similar to that of the Apollo Program, but with the installation of lightning masts to deflect lightning strikes away from the Ares I and Ares V rockets.
The first use of LC39 came in 1967 with the first Saturn V launch, carrying the unmanned Apollo 4 spacecraft. The second unmanned launch, Apollo 6, also used LC39A. With the exception of Apollo 10, which used LC39B (due to the "all-up" testing resulting in a 2-month turnaround period), all manned Apollo-Saturn V launches, commencing with Apollo 8, used LC39A. After the launch of Skylab in 1973, using the Saturn INT-21 rocket (a two-stage variation of the Saturn V rocket originally intended for the Apollo Applications Program), LC39A was reconfigured for the Space Shuttle and was used for the first Shuttle launch (STS-1), using the Columbia in 1981.[11] After Apollo 10, LC39B was kept as a backup launch facility in the case of the destruction of LC39A, but saw service for all three Skylab missions, the ASTP flight, as well as un-launched Skylab Rescue flight. After ASTP, LC39B underwent the same reconfiguration as LC39A, but due to necessary modifications (mainly to allow the facility to service a modified Centaur-G upper stage), along with budgetary restraints, it was not ready until 1986, and the first Shuttle launch to use it was the ill-fated STS-51-L flight – the Challenger disaster.
During the launch of Discovery on STS-124 on May 31, 2008, the pad at LC39A suffered extensive damage, in particular to the concrete trench used to deflect the SRB's flames.[12]
Space shuttle usage
Integration of launch vehicle stack
The thrust to allow the Space Shuttle to achieve orbit is provided by a combination of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs). The SRBs use solid propellant, hence their name. The SSMEs use a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (LOX) from the External Tank (ET), as the Shuttle does not have fuel tanks for the SSMEs. Months before launch, the 3 main components of the "stack" are brought together in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The components are placed on a Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP). The SRBs arrive in segments via rail car from their manufacturing facility in Utah, the external tank arrives from its manufacturing facility in Louisiana by barge and the Space Shuttle waits in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). The SRBs are first stacked, and then the external tank is mounted between them. Then using a massive crane, the Shuttle is lowered and connected to the external tank.
Transportation to the pad
When the stack integration is completed, it is moved by the Crawler-Transporter the 3–4 miles (5-6 kilometers) to the pad over eight hours. At the pad, the MLP is lowered onto several pedestals, and the Crawler-Transporter moves off the pad to a staging area a safe distance away.
Payload to be installed at the launch pad is independently transported in a payload transportation canister, and then installed vertically at the Payload Changeout Room. Otherwise, payload would have already been pre-installed at the Orbiter Processing Facility, and transported within the shuttle orbiter's cargo bay.
Launch towers
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Each pad contains a two-piece access tower system, the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS). The FSS permits access to the Shuttle via a retractable arm and a "beanie cap" to capture vented LOX from the external tank. The RSS contains the Payload Changeout Room, which offers "clean" access to the orbiter's payload bay, protection from the elements and can protect the shuttle in winds up to 60 knots (110 km/h). Also at each pad are large cryogenic tanks that store the fuel liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (LOX) fuel for the SSMEs. The highly explosive nature of these chemicals requires numerous safety measures at the Launch Complex. NASA calculates the minimum safe distance for a fully fueled Space Shuttle stack is three miles (5 km) for personnel, and 8,700 feet (2,700 m) between pads. Before tanking operations begin and during launch, non-essential personnel are excluded from the danger area. The Launch Control Center and Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) are almost exactly three miles (5 km) away.
Sound suppression water system
An elevated water tank near each pad provides sound buffering protection for the launching spacecraft. Part of the Sound Suppression Water System (SSWS), the 290-foot (88 m) water towers store 300,000 gallons (1.1 Megalitres) of water, which is released just before engine ignition.[13] The water discharged onto the launch platform during lift-off muffles the intense sound waves produced by the Shuttle engines. Due to heating of the water, a large quantity of steam is produced during launch.
Emergency pad evacuation
In an emergency, the launch complex uses a slidewire escape basket system for quick evacuation. Assisted by members of the closeout team, the crew would leave the shuttle and ride an emergency basket to the ground at speeds reaching up to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).[14] From there, the crew take shelter in a bunker. A modified M113 Armored Personnel Carrier can carry injured astronauts away from the complex to safety.[15]
Future use
With the planned retirement of the Shuttle in 2010, NASA will modify the two launch pads to accommodate the manned Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle and the unmanned Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle in support of Project Constellation.[16] Prior to the announcement that the two launchers would use LC-39, officials in Florida were concerned by the possibility that the Space Shuttle's successor project may not have launched from Kennedy Space Center. LC-39B will become the primary launchpad for the Ares I, while LC-39A, still currently in use by the Shuttle, will become the primary facility for the Ares V.
LC-39B
NASA deactivated LC-39B on January 1, 2007, thus making the nighttime launch of STS-116, which occurred on December 9, 2006 the last regularly scheduled mission.
_and_Endeavour_(STS-400)_on_launch_pads_again.jpg)
NASA is currently in the process of converting LC-39B for its new Ares I role. Between the STS-116 launch and the STS-125 mission, when the Endeavour was placed on LC-39B in the event NASA needed to launch the STS-400 rescue mission, contractors installed three new 600 ft. tall lightning mast towers similar to those used on the Atlas V and Delta IV launch pads at nearby Cape Canaveral. At the same time they removed the existing single lightning mast and crane assembly. (The crane assembly dated back to the Apollo Program.) With the completion of STS-125 contractors converted LC-39B for the successful test flight of Ares I-X on October 28, 2009.
After the Ares I-X flight, NASA plans to strip LC-39B of its FSS, returning to an Apollo-like "clean pad" design for the first time since 1977. New MLPs are planned that will support both the Ares I and its launch umbilical tower, and allow NASA to continue using the Crawler-Transporters in their existing configuration. The new MLP's systems are being designed by ASRC Aerospace under the USTDC contract. The new tower, similar in appearance to the Saturn V tower, will only have two "swing" arms, one for the crew (along with an attached "clean room") and one for the Orion Service Module. A pair of collect "chocks," similar in function to the existing chocks used on the Shuttle Orbiter, will be used to both fuel, drain, and vent the LH2 and LOX for the Ares I second stage (the Shuttle chocks only fill and drain, with separate vent arms being used). In addition, a new "roller coaster" escape system is planned to replace the existing slide wire system. This system is necessary in the case of a launch pad emergency while the crew access arm is still attached to the Orion spacecraft. By the time the entire Ares I stack is finished being tested (Ares I-Y in 2013 and Orion 1 in 2014), with both the solid-fueled first stage and liquid-fueled second stage, LC-39B will have all traces of Shuttle-related hardware removed, and LC-39B will become a "clean" pad for the first time since 1977. The LH2, LOX, and water tanks (used for the sound suppression system) will be the only structures left over from the Shuttle era.[17][18]
LC-39A
Just like the first 24 shuttle flights, LC-39A will support the remaining manifested Shuttle flights, starting with STS-117 until the retirement of the fleet in 2011, after which it will undergo its conversion for operations in support of the Ares V.
Like LC-39B, LC-39A will have both the FSS and RSS removed, and lightning masts identical in height installed. While LC-39B will retain its Shuttle-era storage tanks, LC-39A, as the primary launch facility for the Ares V, will need additional storage capacity in order to accommodate its core stage (which combined, is as long as the S-IC and S-II stages of the Saturn V), as well as the Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and the Altair Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), which will use the same LH2 and LOX fuel and oxidizer as the Ares V's core stage itself.
Because of the Ares V's in-line design, the three existing MLPs, which date back to Apollo and modified to accommodate the "piggybacked" Shuttle, will undergo a major overhaul in order to accommodate the Ares V and its launch umbilical tower, which will have Apollo-like swing arms for the EDS and the Altair LSAM. Due to their age and the need to support the immense weight of the Ares V and its tower (which will weigh more than the Apollo-Saturn V system), the current Crawler-Transporters, in use since 1967, will be upgraded with newer engines and other equipment to allow support of both the Ares I and Ares V when lunar flight commence after 2018. Although it would be primarily used for Ares V flights, LC-39A can also support launches of the Ares I in the event LC-39B is damaged or destroyed in a launch pad accident.
Other changes
The VAB is currently undergoing modifications to accommodate the simultaneous assembly and checkout operations for both the Shuttle and for the Ares I. Eventually, the VAB will undergo further modifications to allow for the assembly of both an Ares I and Ares V when lunar missions commence after 2018.
In addition to changes to the VAB, two to three new Mobile Launcher Platforms will be built to support the in-line Ares I booster and its support tower (although the Ares I-X flight used the existing Space Shuttle facilities), and the Apollo-era Crawler-Transporters will be upgraded to support the program.
See also
- Kennedy Space Center
- List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NASA (1993). "Launch Complex 39-A & 39-B". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/facilities/lc39a.html. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ NASA (2000). "Launch Complex 39". NASA. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/pads.htm. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ "KSC Facilities". NASA. http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/facilities/tour.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ Eriksen, Brevard County, Florida: A Short History to 1955
- ↑ "EVOLUTION OF THE 45TH SPACE WING". US Air Force. http://www.patrick.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4514. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ "THE HISTORY OF CAPE CANAVERAL CHAPTER 2: THE MISSILE RANGE TAKES SHAPE (1949-1958)". Spaceline.org. http://www.spaceline.org/capehistory/2a.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ "Cape Canaveral LC5". Astronautix.com. http://www.astronautix.com/sites/capallc5.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ [http://www.spaceline.org/capehistory/3a.html "THE HISTORY OF CAPE CANAVERAL CHAPTER 3 NASA ARRIVES (1959-PRESENT)"]. Spaceline.org. http://www.spaceline.org/capehistory/3a.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ NASA (2006). "Feature: Launch Complex 39". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ NASA (2006). "Shuttle-Era Pad Modifications". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/pad-mods.html. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ SPACE.com -- NASA Eyes Launch Pad Damage for Next Shuttle Flight
- ↑ "Sound Suppression System". http://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_watertest.html. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ↑ "SPACE.com – NASA Conducts Shuttle Astronaut Rescue Drill". http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ft_shuttle_training_041203.html. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ↑ "NASA Field Journal by Greg Lohning". http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/people/journals/space/lohning/. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ↑ NASA (2006). "Ares Project Status" (.PDF). NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/164292main_2nd_exp_conf_27_ConstellationElements_AresProjectStatus_SCooke.pdf. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ NASA (2006). "Sound Suppression System". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/sound-suppression-system.html. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ "STS-127 Rollaround starts". Space Flight Now. http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts127/status.html.
External links
- KSC page on Launch Complex 39 Facilities
- Pad B modifications for Ares 1-X, level 300
- Pad B modifications for Ares 1-X, level 275
- Pad B modifications for Ares 1-X, level 255
- Pad B modifications for Ares 1-X, level 235
- "Kennedy Prepares to Host Constellation". NASA. 2007-09-28. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/Constellationfacilities.html.-
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