Sample records for launch pad 39b
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., announces that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with SpaceX for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announces that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announces that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., speaks to members of the news media announcing that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with SpaceX for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, center director Bob Cabana announces that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, left, and Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, look on. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., announces that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with SpaceX for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana listen. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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2014-04-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, from the left, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana pose in from the of the historic launch complex after announcing that NASA has just signed a lease agreement with SpaceX for use and operation of Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A for rockets such as the Falcon Heavy, currently under development. Both launch pad 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Pad 39B is now being modified by NASA to support the Space Launch System SLS rocket boosting the Orion spacecraft part of the agency’s plan to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. To learn more about Launch Pad 39A visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
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Astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy in white room on launch pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1994-01-01
In the white room at Launch Pad 39B, STS-66 mission specialist Jean-Francois Clervoy is assisted with his partial pressure launch/entry suit by close-out crew members Travis Thompson and Danny Wyatt (background) before entering the Space Shuttle Atlantis for its November 3 launch.
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2003-07-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. – This aerial view shows Launch Complex 39 Area. At center is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. On the horizon at the far left is Launch Pad 39B; to the right is Launch Pad 39A. The crawlerway can be seen stretching from the VAB toward Pad A. Waters of the Banana Creek and Banana River surround the pads. At center right is the Turn Basin.
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2003-07-23
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This aerial view shows the Launch Complex 39 Area. At center is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. On the horizon at the far left is Launch Pad 39B to the right is Launch Pad 39A. The crawlerway can be seen stretching from the VAB toward Pad A. Waters of the Banana Creek and Banana River surround the pads. At center right is the Turn Basin. Photo credit: NASA
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Upgrades and modifications
2016-03-03
Upgrades and modifications continue to the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pad B is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission-1, deep-space missions, and the journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
A view looking up from the north side of the flame trench beneath the pad at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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View of the Apollo 10 space vehicle at Pad B, ready for launch
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1969-01-01
Ground-level view at sunset of the Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle at Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. The Apollo 10 stack had just been positioned after being rolled out from the Vehicle Assemble Building (VAB) (34318); View of the Apollo 10 space vehicle (through palm trees and across water) on the way from the VAB to Pad B, Launch Complex 39. The Saturn V and its mobile launch tower are atop a crawler-transporter (34319).
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2000-09-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- This aerial photo captures Launch Pads 39B (left) and 39A (right). Space Shuttle Discovery waits on pad 39A for launch on mission STS-92 Oct. 5, 2000. The ball-shaped structures at left of the pads are storage tanks of the cryogenic liquid propellants for the orbiter’s main engines
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2000-09-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- This aerial photo captures Launch Pads 39B (left) and 39A (right). Space Shuttle Discovery waits on pad 39A for launch on mission STS-92 Oct. 5, 2000. The ball-shaped structures at left of the pads are storage tanks of the cryogenic liquid propellants for the orbiter’s main engines
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2017-09-26
NASA Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at left, arrives at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to observe the first major tanking operation of liquid oxygen, or LO2, into the giant storage sphere at the northwest corner of the pad to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. During the operation, several Praxair trucks will slowly offload LO2 to gradually chill down the sphere from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
Several Praxair trucks begin to depart Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after offloading their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, one at a time into the giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad. The sphere was gradually chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
Several Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, arrive at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trucks will offload LO2 slowly into a giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad to gradually chill it down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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STS-95 Space Shuttle Discovery rollout to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
Perched on the Mobile Launch Platform, in the early morning hours Space Shuttle Discovery approaches Launch Complex Pad 39B after a 6-hour, 4.2-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building. At the launch pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the launch, scheduled to lift off Oct. 29. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.
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1993-11-15
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Space Shuttle Endeavour is being "rolled around" from Launch Pad 39A to Launch Pad 39B. The rare pad switch was deemed necessary after contamination was discovered in the Payload Changeout Room at pad A. Still to come are the payloads for the upcoming STS-61 mission, the first servicing of the Hubble Telescope
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STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B KSC-01PD-1788 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- A pool of water near Launch Pad 39B turns crimson from the reflection of flames at the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-109. The second attempt in two days, liftoff occurred at 5:19:28 p.m. EST (10:19.28 GMT). Endeavour will dock with the International Space Station on Dec. 7. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. It is the 12th flight to the Space Station. Landing of the orbiter at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is targeted for 1:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. GMT) Dec. 16.
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2010-11-11
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Launch Pad 39B is seen from Launch Pad 39A. Pad B is morphing to support a commercial space program with multiple customers, multiple providers and multiple systems that will take Americans to the International Space Station and other low Earth orbit destinations. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2017-09-26
NASA Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, center, talks to engineers at Launch Pad 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Blackwell-Thompson will observe the first major tanking operation of liquid oxygen, or LO2, into the giant storage sphere at the northwest corner of the pad to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. During the operation, several Praxair trucks will slowly offload LO2 to gradually chill down the sphere from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
NASA Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at right, greets engineers and technicians at Launch Pad 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Blackwell-Thompson will observe the first major tanking operation of liquid oxygen, or LO2, into the giant storage sphere at the northwest corner of the pad to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. During the operation, several Praxair trucks will slowly offload LO2 to gradually chill down the sphere from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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STS-27 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, at KSC Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1988-01-01
STS-27 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, sits atop the mobile launcher platform at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B. Profile of OV-104 mounted on external tank and flanked by solid rocket boosters (SRBs) is obscured by a flock of seagulls in the foreground. The fixed service structure (FSS) with rotating service structure (RSS) retracted appears in the background. Water resevoir is visible at the base of the launch pad concrete structure.
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2017-09-26
Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, are on their way to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trucks will offload LO2 slowly into a giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad to gradually chill it down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
One of several Praxair trucks carrying its load of liquid oxygen, or LO2, is in route to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The truck will offload LO2 slowly into a giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad to gradually chill it down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
Several Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, have arrived at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trucks will offload LO2 slowly into a giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad to gradually chill it down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, at KSC LC pad 39B
1988-07-04
S88-42101 (15 July 1988) --- STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, awaits further processing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch complex (LC) pad 39B. OV-103 arrived at LC pad 39B after a six-hour journey from the vehicle assembly building (VAB). The rotating service structure is retracted.
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Large Crawler Crane for new lightning protection system
2007-10-25
A large crawler crane arrives at the turn basin at the Launch Complex 39 Area on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The crane with its 70-foot boom will be moved to Launch Pad 39B and used to construct a new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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2010-11-12
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two rainbows appear between Launch Pad 39B and Launch Pad 39A. Pad B, seen here, is morphing to support a commercial space program with multiple customers, multiple providers and multiple systems that will take Americans to the International Space Station and other low Earth orbit destinations. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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Woodpecker Preventative measures at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
Technicians at Launch Pad 39B take steps to prevent further damage from woodpeckers to the Space Shuttle Discovery, set to lift off July 13 on Mission STS-70. Installing balloons with scary eyes, such as these two near the external tank, are just one of the measures being taken to keep woodpeckers away since Discovery's second rollout to Pad B. Discovery had to be rolled back once to the Vehicle Assembly Building to repair woodpecker holes made in the insulation covering the external tank.
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2017-09-26
Several Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, have arrived at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A mist is visible as LO2 is offloaded from one of the trucks into the giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad has begun. The sphere will gradually be chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
Several Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, have arrived at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trucks will begin to offload the LO2 one at a time into the giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad. The sphere will gradually be chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
Engineers watch as several Praxair trucks carrying their loads of liquid oxygen, or LO2, arrive at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trucks will offload the LO2 one at a time into the giant storage sphere located at the northwest corner of the pad. The sphere will gradually be chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Large Crawler Crane for new lightning protection system
2007-10-25
A large crawler crane begins moving away from the turn basin at the Launch Complex 39 Area on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The crane with its 70-foot boom will be moved to Launch Pad 39B and used to construct a new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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STS-29 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, roll out to KSC LC Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1989-01-01
In the early morning hours, STS-29 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, mated to the external tank (ET) and solid rocket boosters (SRBs) is rolled out to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B atop the mobile launcher platform. Trees, shrubs, and a light mist surround the mobile launcher platform as it makes its way to LC Pad 39B. OV-103 will fly on Mission STS-29 scheduled for launch in mid-March. View provided by KSC with alternate KSC number KSC-89PC-50.
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2017-09-26
Mist or vapor is visible as a Praxair truck slowly transfers its load of liquid oxygen, or LO2, into a giant storage sphere at the northwest corner of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The sphere will gradually be chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
The final brick was installed on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
Construction workers sign the final bricks after they were installed on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
A construction worker installs one of the final bricks on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
Preparations are underway to install the final brick on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
A construction worker installs the final brick on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
Construction workers install the final bricks on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The walls of the flame trench are being upgraded to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, all of the old crawler track panels have been removed from the surface and construction workers are repairing the concrete surface and catacomb roof below. At far left is the recently-constructed pad elevator. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
Progress on the new brick walls of the north side of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B is seen in a view from the top of the pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, continue to install new heat-resistant bricks on the concrete walls. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep-space missions, and the journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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2008-12-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the new lightning towers is under construction. The towers will hold catenary wires as part of the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, prepare new heat-resistant bricks for installation on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, attach new heat-resistant bricks on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
A construction worker with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, checks to make sure new heat-resistant bricks attached to the north side of the flame trench are level at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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2011-10-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mechanical engineering students from Louisiana State University joined engineers and scientists at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the students toured the facility to have a look at the flame trench. Designers are looking for new, flame and vibration-resistant materials to line the trench. To help in the search, a team of mechanical engineering students at Louisiana State University are to build a scaled-down version of the flame trench that Kennedy's scientists can use to try out sample materials for the trench. If the samples work in the lab, they can be tried out in the real flame trenches at Launch Pad 39A and 39B. The launch pad has been refurbished extensively and work is continuing to modify the pad to support a variety of launch vehicles in the future. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2011-10-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mechanical engineering students from Louisiana State University joined engineers and scientists at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the students toured the facility to have a look at the flame trench. Designers are looking for new, flame and vibration-resistant materials to line the trench. To help in the search, a team of mechanical engineering students at Louisiana State University are to build a scaled-down version of the flame trench that Kennedy's scientists can use to try out sample materials for the trench. If the samples work in the lab, they can be tried out in the real flame trenches at Launch Pad 39A and 39B. The launch pad has been refurbished extensively and work is continuing to modify the pad to support a variety of launch vehicles in the future. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2011-10-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Louisiana State University mechanical engineering students Kevin Schenker, from left, and Jacob Koch join Luz Marina Calle, a scientist at NASA's Kennedy Space in Florida, as they examine a portion of the wall of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B. Designers are looking for new, flame and vibration-resistant materials to line the trench. To help in the search, a team of mechanical engineering students at Louisiana State University are to build a scaled-down version of the flame trench that Kennedy's scientists can use to try out sample materials for the trench. If the samples work in the lab, they can be tried out in the real flame trenches at Launch Pad 39A and 39B. The launch pad has been refurbished extensively and work is continuing to modify the pad to support a variety of launch vehicles in the future. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2011-10-14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mechanical engineering students from Louisiana State University, the group on the left, joined engineers and scientists at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the students toured the facility to have a look at the flame trench. Designers are looking for new, flame and vibration-resistant materials to line the trench. To help in the search, a team of mechanical engineering students at Louisiana State University are to build a scaled-down version of the flame trench that Kennedy's scientists can use to try out sample materials for the trench. If the samples work in the lab, they can be tried out in the real flame trenches at Launch Pad 39A and 39B. The launch pad has been refurbished extensively and work is continuing to modify the pad to support a variety of launch vehicles in the future. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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STS-30 Atlantis, OV-104, at KSC LC Pad 39B atop mobile launcher platform
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1989-01-01
STS-30 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, arrives at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B atop mobile launcher platform. The fixed service structure (FSS) towers above OV-104, its external tank (ET), and its solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The rotating service structure (RSS) is retracted. The launch tower catwalks are also retracted.
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Final Flame Trench Brick Installation at Launch Pad 39B
2017-05-09
A view of the north side of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The final brick was installed in the flame trench, completing about a year's worth of work to upgrade the walls to withstand the intense heat and fire at launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket with Orion atop. About 96,000 heat-resistant bricks, in three different sizes, were secured to the walls using bonding mortar in combination with adhesive anchors. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad 39B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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2017-09-26
A large plume of mist or vapor is visible as a Praxair truck slowly transfers its load of liquid oxygen, or LO2, into a giant storage sphere at the northwest corner of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The sphere will gradually be chilled down from normal temperature to about negative 298 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first major integrated operation to prepare for the launch of the agency's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to pad B to support the launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1, deep space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars.
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Artist's Concept- Ares I On Launchpad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2007-01-01
Under the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration, Ares I is a chief component of the cost-effective space transportation infrastructure being developed by NASA's Constellation Program. This transportation system will safely and reliably carry human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. Launch Pad 39B of the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC), currently used for Space Shuttle launches, will be revised to host the Ares launch vehicles. The fixed and rotating service structures standing at the pad will be dismantled sometime after the Ares I-X test flight. A new launch tower for Ares I will be built onto a new mobile launch platform. The gantry for the shuttle doesn't reach much higher than the top of the four segments of the solid rocket booster. Pad access above the current shuttle launch pad structure will not be required for Ares I-X because the stages above the solid rocket booster are inert. For the test scheduled in 2012 or for the crewed flights, workers and astronauts will need access to the highest levels of the rocket and capsule. When the Ares I rocket rolls out to the launch pad on the back of the same crawler-transporters used now, its launch gantry will be with it. The mobile launchers will nestle under three lightning protection towers to be erected around the pad area. Ares time at the launch pad will be significantly less than the three weeks or more the shuttle requires. This 'clean pad' approach minimizes equipment and servicing at the launch pad. It is the same plan NASA used with the Saturn V rockets and industry employs it with more modern launchers. The launch pad will also get a new emergency escape system for astronauts, one that looks very much like a roller coaster. Cars riding on a rail will replace the familiar baskets hanging from steel cables. This artist's concept illustrates the Ares I on launch pad 39B.
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STS-57 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B
1993-06-21
STS057-S-053 (21 June 1993) --- The Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off Launch Pad 39B as captured on film by an audio-activated camera positioned at the 270-feet level on the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) at Launch Pad 39B. STS-57 launch occurred at 9:07:22 a.m. (EDT), June 21, 1993. The mission represents the first flight of the commercially developed SpaceHab laboratory module and also will feature a retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA). Onboard for Endeavour's fourth flight are a crew of six NASA astronauts; Ronald J. Grabe, mission commander; Brian Duffy, pilot; G. David Low, payload commander; and Nancy J. Sherlock, Peter J. K. (Jeff) Wisoff and Janice E. Voss, all mission specialists. An earlier launch attempt was scrubbed due to unacceptable weather conditions both at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the overseas contingency landing sites.
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2006-05-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister passes NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2006-05-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister passes NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2006-05-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister passes NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
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1997-01-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-81 Mission Specialist Jeff Wisoff prepares to enter the Space Shuttle Atlantis at Launch Pad 39B with help from White Room closeout crew members Danny Wyatt (center) and Al Rochford.
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2013-06-12
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, crawler track panels have been removed from the surface and construction workers are repairing the concrete surface and catacomb roof below. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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2013-06-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are removing the flame trench deflector that sits below and between the left and right crawler track panels. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, are on an elevated work stand to install new heat-resistant bricks on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work
2016-10-26
Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, cut new heat-resistant bricks to size for the concrete walls of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New heat-resistant bricks are being attached with epoxy mortar to the flame trench walls. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.
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Constructing lightning towers for the Constellation Program and
2007-11-09
On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, pilings are being pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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Constructing lightning towers for the Constellation Program and
2007-11-09
On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers measure the piling being pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission
2009-05-11
STS125-S-050 (11 May 2009) --- The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is viewed from behind launch pad 39B. On pad 39B is Space Shuttle Endeavour, which can launch, if needed, for rescue of Atlantis? crew during its STS-125 mission to service NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff of Atlantis was on time at 2:01 p.m. (EDT) on May 11, 2009. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, Fine Guidance Sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
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Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission
2009-05-11
STS125-S-057 (11 May 2009) --- The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is viewed from behind launch pad 39B. On pad 39B is Space Shuttle Endeavour, which can launch, if needed, for rescue of Atlantis? crew during its STS-125 mission to service NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff of Atlantis was on time at 2:01 p.m. (EDT) on May 11, 2009. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, Fine Guidance Sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
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2009-04-17
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Just before dawn, space shuttle Endeavour is bathed in xenon lights after being secured on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion on rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 11:57 p.m. EDT April 16. Surrounding the pad are the new lightning towers erected for NASA's Constellation Program, which will use the pad for Ares rocket launches. Endeavour will be prepared on the pad for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary following space shuttle Atlantis' launch on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch June 13. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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Pad B Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hall, Felicia
2007-01-01
Kennedy Space Center is home to two liquid hydrogen storage tanks, one at each launch pad of Launch Complex 39. The liquid hydrogen storage tank at Launch Pad B has a significantly higher boil off rate that the liquid hydrogen storage tank at Launch Pad A. This research looks at various calculations concerning the at Launch Pad B in an attempt to develop a solution to the excess boil off rate. We will look at Perlite levels inside the tank, Boil off rates, conductive heat transfer, and radiant heat transfer through the tank. As a conclusion to the research, we will model the effects of placing an external insulation to the tank in order to reduce the boil off rate and increase the economic efficiency of the liquid hydrogen storage tanks.
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Constructing lightning towers for the Constellation Program and
2007-11-09
On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crane crawler puts a piling into place to be pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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Constructing lightning towers for the Constellation Program and
2007-11-09
On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crane crawler lifts a piling into place to be pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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STS-95 Space Shuttle Discovery rollout to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
As daylight creeps over the horizon, STS-95 Space Shuttle Discovery, on the Mobile Launch Platform, arrives at Launch Complex Pad 39B after a 4.2-mile trip taking approximately 6 hours. At the left is the 'white room,' attached to the orbiter access arm. The white room is an environmental chamber that mates with the orbiter and holds six persons. At the launch pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the launch, scheduled to lift off Oct. 29. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar- observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Launch Pad 39B elevator has been upgraded and painted. Also, various fluid interface connections have been installed on the pad. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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Floodlights illuminate view of Skylab 3 vehicle at Pad B, Launch Complex 39
1973-07-20
S73-32568 (20 July 1973) --- Floodlights illuminate this nighttime view of the Skylab 3/Saturn 1B space vehicle at Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, during prelaunch preparations. The reflection is the water adds to the scene. In addition to the Command/Service Module and its launch escapte system, the Skylab 3 space vehicle consists of the Saturn 1B first (S-1B) stage and the Saturn 1B second (S-IVB) stage. The crew for the scheduled 59-day Skylab 3 mission in Earth orbit will be astronauts Alan L. Bean, Owen K. Garriott and Jack R. Lousma. Skylab 3 was launched on July 28, 1973. Photo credit: NASA
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2010-12-17
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch Complex 39 is seen across brackish water as the sun rises at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the left is Launch Pad 39B, which is being restructured for future use. On the right is Launch Pad 39A, where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for a tanking test. Kennedy coexists with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, habitat to more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fish and 65 amphibians and reptiles. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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2008-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the massive crawler-transporter carrying space shuttle Endeavour approaches the launch pad. First motion of Endeavour from the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 11:15 p.m. Sept. 18. The crawler travels on eight tracked tread belts, each containing 57 tread belt “shoes.” Each shoe is 7.5 feet long, 1.5 feet wide and weighs approximately 2,100 pounds. Endeavour completed the 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B on Sept. 19 at 6:59 a.m. EDT. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2009-04-17
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Just before dawn, space shuttle Endeavour is bathed in xenon lights after being secured on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion on rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 11:57 p.m. EDT April 16. On either side of the pad are two of the new lightning towers erected for NASA's Constellation Program, which will use the pad for Ares rocket launches. Endeavour will be prepared on the pad for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary following space shuttle Atlantis' launch on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch June 13. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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The STS-103 crew address family and friends at Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
The STS-103 crew address family and friends at Launch Pad 39B. From left to right are Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., and Mission Specialists C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France , Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Steven L. Smith. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. In the background is Space Shuttle Discovery, alongside the lighted Fixed Service Structure. The STS-103 mission, to service the Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled for launch Dec. 17 at 8:47 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39B. Mission objectives include replacing gyroscopes and an old computer, installing another solid state recorder, and replacing damaged insulation in the telescope. The mission is expected to last about 8 days and 21 hours. Discovery is expected to land at KSC Sunday, Dec. 26, at about 6:25 p.m. EST.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane begins lifting a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast to place it on top of one of the 500-foot towers being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane begins lifting a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast to place it on top of one of the 500-foot towers being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast that will be placed on top of one of the 500-foot towers being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast alongside the 500-foot tower where it will be installed. The tower is one of three being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast on top of the 500-foot tower. The tower is one of three being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane holds a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast that will be placed on top of one of the 500-foot towers being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast on top of the 500-foot tower. The tower is one of three being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Another tower is seen at right. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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Constructing lightning towers for the Constellation Program and
2007-11-09
On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crane crawler lifts a piling off a truck. The piling will be pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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2018-05-24
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
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STS-26 crew during emergency egress exercise at LC 39 launch pad B
1988-05-04
S88-40898 (4 May 1988) --- Astronauts, members of the orbiter close-out crew and fire and rescue personnel participate in a simulated emergency egress exercise near the slide wire termination point bunker at Launch Pad 39B. The simulated exercise was performed to familiarize personnel with evacuation routes as well as emergency equipment and procedures. Reasons for conducting the emergency exercises include the need to validate recent post-Challenger upgrades to the launch pad's emergency escape system and the new procedures developed in preparation for STS-26. (NOTE: The astronaut pictured and many of the others who participated in the exercises are not members of STS-26 prime crew).
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2009-02-12
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A lightning mast remains to be lifted atop the third and final lightning tower erected on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Three towers surround the pad. The new lightning protection system is being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the towers is 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, various fluid interface connections have been installed at Launch Pad 39B. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, various fluid interface connections have been installed at Launch Pad 39B. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, various fluid interface connections have been installed at Launch Pad 39B. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, various fluid interface connections have been installed at Launch Pad 39B. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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2013-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, various fluid interface connections have been installed at Launch Pad 39B. New system connections include chilled water supply-and-return and conditioned air that will be used to provide the mobile launcher with the necessary commodities during launch operations. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing upgrades and modifications to Pad B to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft. The pads supported space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
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2014-08-16
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Singer-songwriter Brad Paisley announces the release of a new song titled "American Flag on the Moon" from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the background is Launch Pad 39A from which the Apollo moon landing missions were launched. Upon seeing Paisley's Twitter post that he was at NASA's Apollo launch pad leaking his new song, astronaut Reid Wiseman responded, "Hold on @BradPaisley, we don't usually like leaks at the launch pad." Wiseman is a member of the Expedition 40 crew currently in Earth orbit on the International Space Station. For more on Kennedy Space Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy. To read more of Wiseman's Twitter posts from the station, go to https://twitter.com/astro_reid. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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2014-08-16
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Singer-songwriter Brad Paisley announces the release of a new song titled "American Flag on the Moon" from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the background is Launch Pad 39A from which the Apollo moon landing missions were launched. Upon seeing Paisley's Twitter post that he was at NASA's Apollo launch pad leaking his new song, astronaut Reid Wiseman responded, "Hold on @BradPaisley, we don't usually like leaks at the launch pad." Wiseman is a member of the Expedition 40 crew currently in Earth orbit on the International Space Station. For more on Kennedy Space Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy. To read more of Wiseman's Twitter posts from the station, go to https://twitter.com/astro_reid. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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2009-01-22
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A giant crane is used to add additional segments to the new lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-27 Atlantis, OV-104, lifts off from KSC Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B
1988-12-02
STS027-S-005 (Dec 2, 1988) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched from Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Pad 39-B at 9:30 a.m. EST, on a Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated mission. This is the third mission for the orbiter Atlantis. Crew members are: Commander Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson; Pilot Guy S. Gardner; and Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross, William M. Shepherd and Richard M. (Mike) Mullane.
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2006-08-29
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Atlantis is hard down on the launch pad after rolling back to Launch Pad 39B. The Atlantic Ocean and lagoon water in the background reflect the glowing light of a setting sun. The shuttle had been moved off the launch pad due to concerns about the impact of Tropical Storm Ernesto, expected within 24 hours. The forecast of lesser winds expected from Ernesto and its projected direction convinced Launch Integration Manager LeRoy Cain and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach to return the shuttle to the launch pad. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-30 Atlantis, OV-104, on the mobile launcher platform heads to KSC LC pad
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1989-01-01
STS-30 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, riding atop the mobile launcher platform and the crawler transporter approaches Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B. This backlit view highlights OV-104's profile, the external tank (ET), and one of the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) as it moves up LC pad 39B incline.
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Large Crawler Crane for new lightning protection system
2007-10-25
A large crawler crane traveling long one of the crawlerway tracks makes the turn toward Launch Pad 39B. The crane with its 70-foot boom will be used to construct a new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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Large Crawler Crane for new lightning protection system
2007-10-25
A large crawler crane travels along one of the crawlerway tracks on its way to Launch Pad 39B. The crane with its 70-foot boom will be used to construct a new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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Large Crawler Crane for new lightning protection system
2007-10-25
A large crawler crane moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39B. The crane with its 70-foot boom will be used to construct a new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.
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2001-12-04
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - STS-108 Mission Specialist Daniel M. Tani is happy to be suiting up for launch before heading to Launch Pad 39B and Space Shuttle Endeavour. Top priorities for the STS-108 (UF-1) mission of Endeavour are rotation of the International Space Station Expedition 3 and Expedition 4 crews; bringing water, equipment and supplies to the station in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello; and the crew's completion of robotics tasks and a spacewalk to install thermal blankets over two pieces of equipment at the bases of the Space Station's solar wings. Launch is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. EST Dec. 4, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, all of the old crawler track panels have been removed from the surface and construction workers are repairing the concrete surface and catacomb roof below. New crawler track panels will be installed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, all of the old crawler track panels have been removed from the surface and construction workers are repairing the concrete surface and catacomb roof below. New crawler track panels will be installed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-102 crew meets with media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee talks about the mission during a media event at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. He and other crew members are at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Discovery will also be transporting the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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2009-05-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – New windows are installed in the Launch Control Center's Firing Room 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of NASA's Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-05-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – New windows are installed in the Launch Control Center's Firing Room 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of NASA's Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane completes construction of one of the towers in the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Other towers are being constructed at left and behind the service structures on the pad. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places the 100-foot fiberglass mast atop the new lightning tower constructed on the pad. The towers are part of the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with the additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places the 100-foot fiberglass mast atop the new lightning tower constructed on the pad. The towers are part of the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with the additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - During space shuttle Endeavour’s rollout to the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker checks equipment on the tracks of the massive crawler-transporter. The crawler travels on eight tracked tread belts, each containing 57 tread belt “shoes.” Each shoe is 7.5 feet long, 1.5 feet wide and weighs approximately 2,100 pounds. First motion of Endeavour from the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 11:15 p.m. Sept. 18. Endeavour completed the 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B on Sept. 19 at 6:59 a.m. EDT. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast on top of the 500-foot tower. The tower is one of three being constructed for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Another tower is seen at right. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, roll out to KSC Launch Complex Pad 39B
1992-03-13
S92-34862 (13 March 1992) --- An otter, surprised by the unexpected presence of the photographer, seems unaware of the Space Shuttle Endeavour rolling behind it to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is the newest orbiter in the Shuttle fleet. Still ahead for Endeavour (OV-105) is a Flight Readiness Firing of its three main engines, and the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test with the flight crew. Endeavour's maiden voyage on NASA's mission STS-49 will occur in late spring.
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STS-28 Columbia, OV-102, lifts off from KSC Launch Complex Pad 39B
1989-08-08
STS028-S-004 (8 Aug. 1989) --- Framed by Florida vegetation, Space Shuttle Columbia soars toward space for the STS-28 mission from Launch Pad 39-B. The spacecraft renews flight after a period of three and a half years, this time with five crewmembers aboard. Onboard the spacecraft are astronauts Brewster H. Shaw Jr., Richard N. Richards, David C. Leestma, James C. Adamson and Mark N. Brown. The last time Columbia was in space was in January of 1986.
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2016-03-23
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) begins its trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) has exited the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its trek along the crawlerway to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) travels along the crawlerway from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its trek to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) travels along the crawlerway during its trek to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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STS-93 MS Coleman takes in view from 195-foot level of launch pad
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
At the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39B, STS-93 Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) takes in the view. The STS-93 crew are at KSC to participate in a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, which familiarizes them with the mission, provides training in emergency exit from the orbiter and launch pad, and includes a launch-day dress rehearsal culminating with a simulated main engine cut-off. Other crew members are Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to obtain unprecedented X-ray images of exotic environments in space to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The targeted launch date for STS-93 is no earlier than July 20 at 12:36 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B.
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2009-05-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A technician works at installing a new window in the Launch Control Center's Firing Room 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of NASA's Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2007-09-09
Under the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration, Ares I is a chief component of the cost-effective space transportation infrastructure being developed by NASA's Constellation Program. This transportation system will safely and reliably carry human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. Launch Pad 39B of the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC), currently used for Space Shuttle launches, will be revised to host the Ares launch vehicles. The fixed and rotating service structures standing at the pad will be dismantled sometime after the Ares I-X test flight. A new launch tower for Ares I will be built onto a new mobile launch platform. The gantry for the shuttle doesn't reach much higher than the top of the four segments of the solid rocket booster. Pad access above the current shuttle launch pad structure will not be required for Ares I-X because the stages above the solid rocket booster are inert. For the test scheduled in 2012 or for the crewed flights, workers and astronauts will need access to the highest levels of the rocket and capsule. When the Ares I rocket rolls out to the launch pad on the back of the same crawler-transporters used now, its launch gantry will be with it. The mobile launchers will nestle under three lightning protection towers to be erected around the pad area. Ares time at the launch pad will be significantly less than the three weeks or more the shuttle requires. This “clean pad” approach minimizes equipment and servicing at the launch pad. It is the same plan NASA used with the Saturn V rockets and industry employs it with more modern launchers. The launch pad will also get a new emergency escape system for astronauts, one that looks very much like a roller coaster. Cars riding on a rail will replace the familiar baskets hanging from steel cables. This artist's concept illustrates the Ares I on launch pad 39B.
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2009-01-22
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Progress is being made on construction of the new lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New sections are being added with the help of a giant crane. Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2010-09-21
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction crews lay large wooden mats on top of sand and reinforcing steel to protect the concrete under the rotating service structure (RSS) of Launch Pad 39B during deconstruction. In the background, space shuttle Discovery stands tall on Launch Pad 39A, awaiting its STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. Starting in 2009, the structure at Pad B was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure (left) onto the pad surface. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure (behind it) is lowered onto the pad surface. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure (left) rests on the pad surface. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure (center) rests on the pad surface. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2010-11-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, media learn about the transformation of Launch Pad 39B from Jose Perez-Morales, NASA's Launch Pad 39B senior manager. Starting in 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. The transformation includes the removal of the rotating service structure (RSS) and fixed service structure (FSS), refurbishment of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks, and the upgrade of about 1.3 million feet of cable. The new lightning protection system, which was in place for the October 2009 launch of Ares I-X, will remain. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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STS-102 Pilot Kelly talks to media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Pilot James Kelly answers a question from the media during an interview session at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. He and other crew members are at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Discovery will also be transporting the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 MS Richards talks to media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Mission Specialist Paul Richards answers a question from the media during an interview session at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. He and other crew members are at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Discovery will also be transporting the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 MS Thomas talks to media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas answers a question from the media during an interview session at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. He and other crew members are at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Discovery will also be transporting the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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2013-11-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. New crawler track panels will be installed. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Wet Flow Test at Launch Complex 39B
2017-12-20
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
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2004-03-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This aerial photo shows the expanse of the Launch Complex 39 Area, bordered at the top by the Atlantic and a cloud-filled sky. At center right, towering above the surrounding sites, is the Vehicle Assembly Building. To the left is the Orbiter Processing Facility's Bay 3. In the foreground are OPF Bays 1 and 2. The two-lane crawlerway stretches from the VAB toward the coast, site of Launch Pad 39A, closest, and Launch Pad 39B, far left. Between the VAB and the ocean sprawl the Banana Creek and the Banana River. Photo credit: NASA
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2009-02-13
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 100-foot lightning mast has been raised to vertical. It will be lifted and installed on top of the third and final new lightning tower being erected around the pad. The new lightning protection system is being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the towers is 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane places the 100-foot fiberglass mast atop the new lightning tower constructed on the pad. The towers are part of the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. At left of the service structures is another tower under construction. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with the additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-81 Rollout to Pad 39B (turtle in foreground)
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
Will the Space Shuttle Atlantis or the turtle reach Launch Pad 39B first? Carried atop the Mobile Launch Platform on the 6- million-pound Crawler Transporter, Shuttle Atlantis departs the Vehicle Assembly Building en route to Pad B at a maximum speed of 1 mile per hour. No one clocked the turtle, which seems to be heading in the same direction. Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to lift off on a nine-day mission on Jan. 12. STS-81 will be the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking. The six-member crew at liftoff will include Mission Specialist J.M. Linenger, who will transfer to the Russian Mir Space Station for an extended stay, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha, who will return to Earth on Atlantis.
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane completes construction of one of the towers in the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction of the towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues on the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Here, a 100-foot fiberglass lightning mast is being prepared to be lifted on top of one of the 500-foot towers. The mast will support a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the rosy dawn light, construction of the towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues on the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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2009-01-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the rosy dawn light, construction of the towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues on the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.
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STS-28 Columbia, OV-102, lifts off from KSC Launch Complex LC Pad 39B
1989-08-08
STS028-S-006 (8 Aug 1989) --- A low-angle view shows Columbia soaring toward space just after clearing the tower at Launch Pad 39-B for the STS-28 mission. The spacecraft renews flight after a period of three and a half years, this time with five crewmembers aboard. Onboard the spacecraft are Astronauts Brewster H. Shaw Jr., Richard N. Richards, David C. Leestma, James C. Adamson and Mark N. Brown. The last time Columbia was in space was in January of 1986.
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2016-03-23
An American flag flutters in the breeze as NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) travels along the crawlerway during its trek to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
Technicians walk alongside NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) as it continues the trek on the crawlerway from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
Technicians walk alongside NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) as it continues the trek along the crawlerway from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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2016-03-23
A truck sprays water in front of NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) to control dust as it begins the trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018.
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STS-56 Discovery, OV-103, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B into darkness
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1993-01-01
STS-56 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B into the early morning darkness at 1:29 am (Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)). OV-103, atop its external tank (ET) and flanked by solid rocket boosters (SRBs), rises above the mobile launcher platform. Exhaust plumes trail from the SRBs. The glow of the SRB / space shuttle main engine (SSME) firings illuminate the fixed service structure (FSS) tower. Trees are silhouetted against the launch fireworks in the foreground.
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2014-08-16
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, singer-songwriter Brad Paisley receives a response from astronaut Reid Wiseman, an Expedition 40 crew member in Earth orbit on the International Space Station, after Paisley announced through social media the release of a new song titled "American Flag on the Moon." Wiseman responded, "Hold on @BradPaisley, we don't usually like leaks at the launch pad." In the background is Launch Pad 39A from which the Apollo moon landing missions were launched. For more on Kennedy Space Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy. To read more of Wiseman's Twitter posts from the station, go to https://twitter.com/astro_reid. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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Aerial view of the newest bus stop to view Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
Tour buses unload passengers at a new stop on the KSC tour that allows visitors to view Pad LC-39B. The tour road runs parallel to the crawlerway (just out of sight) that is used to transport the Space Shuttle vehicles to the pad. The length of the crawlerway from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad B is 6,828 meters (22,440 ft); its width overall is 40 meters (130 ft); each lane is 12 meters (40ft) with a 15-meter (50ft) median. This view looks south.
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Vibro-Acoustic Analysis of NASA's Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A Flame Trench Wall
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Margasahayam, Ravi N.
2009-01-01
A vital element to NASA's manned space flight launch operations is the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39's launch pads A and B. Originally designed and constructed In the 1960s for the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo missions, these pads were modified above grade to support Space Shuttle missions. But below grade, each of the pad's original walls (including a 42 feet deep, 58 feet wide, and 450 feet long tunnel designed to deflect flames and exhaust gases, the flame trench) remained unchanged. On May 31, 2008 during the launch of STS-124, over 3500 of the. 22000 interlocking refractory bricks that lined east wall of the flame trench, protecting the pad structure were liberated from pad 39A. The STS-124 launch anomaly spawned an agency-wide initiative to determine the failure root cause, to assess the impact of debris on vehicle and ground support equipment safety, and to prescribe corrective action. The investigation encompassed radar imaging, infrared video review, debris transport mechanism analysis using computational fluid dynamics, destructive testing, and non-destructive evaluation, including vibroacoustic analysis, in order to validate the corrective action. The primary focus of this paper is on the analytic approach, including static, modal, and vibro-acoustic analysis, required to certify the corrective action, and ensure Integrity and operational reliability for future launches. Due to the absence of instrumentation (including pressure transducers, acoustic pressure sensors, and accelerometers) in the flame trench, defining an accurate acoustic signature of the launch environment during shuttle main engine/solid rocket booster Ignition and vehicle ascent posed a significant challenge. Details of the analysis, including the derivation of launch environments, the finite element approach taken, and analysistest/ launch data correlation are discussed. Data obtained from the recent launch of STS-126 from Pad 39A was instrumental in validating the design analysis philosophies outlined in this paper.
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Replicas of the Santa Maria, Nina, Pinta sail by OV-105 on KSC LC Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1992-01-01
Replicas of Christopher Columbus' sailing ships Santa Maria, Nina, and Pinta sail by Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, on Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B awaiting liftoff on its maiden voyage, STS-49. This view was taken from the water showing the three ships in the foreground with OV-105 on mobile launcher platform profiled against fixed service structure (FSS) tower and rectracted rotating service structure (RSS) in the background. Next to the launch pad (at right) are the sound suppression water system tower and the liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage tank. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-92PC-967.
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2009-01-22
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Brilliant beams of sunlight bounce off the new lightning tower under construction on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New sections are being added with the help of a giant crane (at right). Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane has removed the 80-foot lightning mast from the top of the fixed service structure. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2009-03-09
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Near Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Jose Perez-Morales explains use of the launch pad for the Ares rockets in the Constellation Program. Perez-Morales is Constellation senior pad project manager. Pad 39B will be used for the Ares I-X flight test, targeted for July 2009. The I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I, part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach more cables to the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure. The mast will be lowered to horizontal for transport from the pad. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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STS-87 Mission Specialist Chawla is assisted with her launch and entry spacesuit at LC 39B during TC
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
STS-87 Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., is assisted with her orange launch and entry spacesuit by NASA suit technicians at Launch Pad 39B during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The crew of the STS-87 mission is scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
This wide lux image of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it began its race to catch up with Russia's Mir Space Station shows the base of the launch pad as well as the orbiter just clearing the gantry. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) occurred at 12:22:04 (EST) February 3, 1995. Discovery is the first in the current fleet of four space shuttle vehicles to make 20 launches.
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Water Deluge Test at Launch Complex 39B
2018-05-24
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
STS-97 Mission Specialist Marc Garneau (right) answers a question from the media. At left is Mission Specialist Joe Tanner. They and the other crew members are meeting with the media before beginning emergency egress training at Launch Pad 39B. The training is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97 is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:05 p.m. EST.
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The STS-103 crew with loved ones at Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
The STS-103 crew pose for photographers with their loved ones at Launch Pad 39B. Space Shuttle Discovery is in the background, next to the Fixed Service Structure lit up like a Christmas tree. Viewed left to right are Mission Specialist Steven L. Smith and his wife, Peggy; Pilot Scott J. Kelly and his wife, Leslie; Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. and his fiancee, Ann Brickert; Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale; Laurence Clervoy and her husband, Mission Specialist Jean-Frangois Clervoy; Mission Specialist John M. Grunsfeld and his wife, Carol; Mission Specialist Claude Nicollier and his wife, Susana. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. The mission, to service the Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled for launch Dec. 17 at 8:47 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39B. Mission objectives include replacing gyroscopes and an old computer, installing another solid state recorder, and replacing damaged insulation in the telescope. The mission is expected to last about 8 days and 21 hours. Discovery is expected to land at KSC Sunday, Dec. 26, at about 6:25 p.m. EST.
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Endeavour on way to Pad 39B for STS-77
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
A road sign points the way to Launch Pad 39B, the final earthly destination for the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its steppingstone into space. Endeavour began the slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at about 10 a.m., April 16, perched atop the mobile launcher platform and carried by the crawler-transporter. Upcoming activities at the pad to prepare Endeavour for flight on Mission STS-77 include installation of the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
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2014-06-11
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In view from the top of the ML is the crawlerway that leads to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. The ML is being modified and strengthened to accommodate the weight, size and thrust at launch of NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, and Orion spacecraft. In 2013, the agency awarded a contract to J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., to modify the ML, which is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy. The existing 24-foot exhaust hole is being enlarged and strengthened for the larger, heavier SLS rocket. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first mission, Exploration Mission-1, in 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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A remote camera at Launch Pad 39B, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), recorded this profile view of
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
STS-75 LAUNCH VIEW --- A remote camera at Launch Pad 39B, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), recorded this profile view of the Space Shuttle Columbia as it cleared the tower to begin the mission. The liftoff occurred on schedule at 3:18:00 p.m. (EST), February 22, 1996. Onboard Columbia for the scheduled two-week mission were astronauts Andrew M. Allen, commander; Scott J. Horowitz, pilot; Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, payload commander; and astronauts Maurizio Cheli, Jeffrey A. Hoffman and Claude Nicollier, along with payload specialist Umberto Guidioni. Cheli and Nicollier represent the European Space Agency (ESA), while Guidioni represents the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
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STS-95 crew members greet families at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-95 crew members greet their families from Launch Pad 39B. From left, they are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, another lightning tower is being constructed as part of the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane (at left) completes construction of one of the towers in the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. At right, another tower is being constructed. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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STS-80 Columbia, OV 102, liftoff from KSC Launch Pad 39B
1996-11-19
STS080-S-007 (19 Nov. 1996) --- One of the nearest remote camera stations to Launch Pad B captured this profile image of space shuttle Columbia's liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Launch Complex 39 at 2:55:47 p.m. (EST), November 19, 1996. Onboard are astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell, mission commander; Kent V. Rominger, pilot; along with Story Musgrave, Tamara E. Jernigan and Thomas D. Jones, all mission specialists. The two primary payloads for STS-80 stowed in Columbia?s cargo bay for later deployment and testing are the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-3) and the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) with its associated Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS).
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STS-96 Space Shuttle Discovery rolls back to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery makes the climb to Launch Pad 39B aboard the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter. The crawler is able to keep its cargo level during the move up the five percent grade, not varying from the vertical more than the diameter of a soccer ball. At right are the rotating and fixed service structures which will be used during prelaunch preparations at the pad. Earlier in the week, the Shuttle was rolled back to the VAB from the pad to repair hail damage on the external tank's foam insulation. Mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program, is scheduled for liftoff May 27 at 6:48 a.m. EDT. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment.
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STS-34 crewmembers leave KSC O&C Bldg for LC Pad 39B
1989-10-18
STS-34 crewmembers leave the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building. Crewmembers will then board a vehicle which will carry them to Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B. Crewmembers, wearing orange launch and entry suits (LESs), are (left to right) Mission Specialist (MS) Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, MS Shannon W. Lucid, Pilot Michael J. McCulley, Commander Donald E. Williams, and MS Ellen S. Baker. Following the crewmembers are (dark clothing, left to right) Donald R. Puddy, Olan J. Bertrand, and astronaut Michael L. Coats of JSC.
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is being used to remove the 80-foot lightning mast from the top of the fixed service structure. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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2009-03-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is being used to remove the 80-foot lightning mast from the top of the fixed service structure. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
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Two views of the 'Challenger' being rolled out to pad 39A in the fog STS-6
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1982-01-01
Two views of the 'Challenger' being rolled out to pad 39A in the fog in preparation for STS-6. In one view the Challenger, atop a mobile launch platform, slowly moves down the road through Florida fog to launch pad 39A (41140); In this view, the Challenger and its mobile launch platform are in the left corner of the photo, moving up the road in dense fog. Towards the top of the view, launch pad 39A can be seen (41141).
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1973-11-27
S73-37285 (16 Nov. 1973) --- The Skylab 4/Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 9:01:23 a.m. (EST), Friday, Nov. 16, 1973. Skylab 4 is the third and last of three scheduled manned Skylab missions. Aboard the Skylab 4 Command/Service Module were astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson and William R. Pogue. In addition to the CSM and its launch escape system, the Skylab 4 space vehicle consisted of the Saturn 1B first (S-1B) stage and the Saturn 1B second (S-IVB) stage. (The Skylab 1/Saturn V unmanned space vehicle with the space station payload was launched from Pad A on May 14, 1973). Photo credit: NASA
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1973-11-27
S73-37286 (16 Nov. 1973) --- The Skylab 4/Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 9:01:23 a.m. (EST), Friday, Nov. 16, 1973. Skylab 4 is the third and last of three scheduled manned Skylab missions. Aboard the Skylab 4 Command/Service Module were astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson and William R. Pogue. In addition to the CSM and its launch escape system, the Skylab 4 space vehicle consisted of the Saturn 1B first (S-1B) stage and the Saturn 1B second (S-IVB) stage. (The Skylab 1/Saturn V unmanned space vehicle with the space station payload was launched from Pad A on May 14, 1973). Photo credit: NASA
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler track panels have been removed and construction workers continue to repair the concrete on the surface of the pad. The flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Relaxing after emergency escape training on the 195-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B, are(left to right) STS-102 Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas and Paul Richards and Commander James Wetherbee. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Also flying on the mission are the Expedition Two crew, who will replace the Expedition One crew on Space Station. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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2008-09-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With a crystal blue Atlantic Ocean in the background, space shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch Pad B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At left of the shuttle is the open rotating service structure with the payload changeout room revealed. The rotating service structures provide protection for weather and access to the shuttle. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis’ upcoming mission to repair NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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STS-87 Mission Specialist Chawla talks to the media during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., a mission specialist of the STS-87 crew, participates in a news briefing at Launch Pad 39B during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). First-time Shuttle flier Dr. Chawla reported for training as an astronaut at Johnson Space Center in 1995. She has a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-87 is scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia from pad 39B at KSC.
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1997-11-04
Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., a mission specialist of the STS-87 crew, participates in a news briefing at Launch Pad 39B during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). First-time Shuttle flier Dr. Chawla reported for training as an astronaut at Johnson Space Center in 1995. She has a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-87 is scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia from pad 39B at KSC
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STS-103 Discovery crawls to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery makes the turn toward Launch Pad 39B on its 4.2-mile (6.8 kilometer) trek atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter. Once at the pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch targeted for Dec. 6, 1999, at 2:37 a.m. EST. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency.
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour inches its way to Launch Pad 39B via the crawlerway that leads from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Shuttle is on the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) which is atop the crawler-transporter, moving on four double-tracked crawlers. The maximum speed of the loaded transporter is 1 mph. To the left and right of the Space Shuttle can be seen both launch pads, 39B and 39A respectively. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour inches its way to Launch Pad 39B via the crawlerway that leads from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Shuttle is on the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) which is atop the crawler-transporter, moving on four double-tracked crawlers. The maximum speed of the loaded transporter is 1 mph. To the left and right of the Space Shuttle can be seen both launch pads, 39B and 39A respectively. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2006-08-29
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Atlantis rolls up the ramp to Launch Pad 39B atop the crawler-transporter. The crawler has a leveling system designed to keep the top of the space shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5-percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Also, a laser docking system provides almost pinpoint accuracy when the crawler and mobile launcher platform are positioned at the launch pad. At right are the open rotating service structure and the fixed service structure topped by the 80-foot lightning mast. The shuttle had been moved off the launch pad due to concerns about the impact of Tropical Storm Ernesto, expected within 24 hours. The forecast of lesser winds expected from Ernesto and its projected direction convinced Launch Integration Manager LeRoy Cain and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach to return the shuttle to the launch pad. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2006-08-29
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A late-day sun spotlights Space Shuttle Atlantis as it rolls up the ramp to Launch Pad 39B atop the crawler-transporter. The crawler has a leveling system designed to keep the top of the space shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5-percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Also, a laser docking system provides almost pinpoint accuracy when the crawler and mobile launcher platform are positioned at the launch pad. At left are the open rotating service structure and the fixed service structure topped by the 80-foot lightning mast. The shuttle had been moved off the launch pad due to concerns about the impact of Tropical Storm Ernesto, expected within 24 hours. The forecast of lesser winds expected from Ernesto and its projected direction convinced Launch Integration Manager LeRoy Cain and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach to return the shuttle to the launch pad. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2006-08-29
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A late-day sun spotlights Space Shuttle Atlantis as it rolls up the ramp to Launch Pad 39B atop the crawler-transporter. The crawler has a leveling system designed to keep the top of the space shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5-percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Also, a laser docking system provides almost pinpoint accuracy when the crawler and mobile launcher platform are positioned at the launch pad. At left are the open rotating service structure and the fixed service structure topped by the 80-foot lightning mast. The shuttle had been moved off the launch pad due to concerns about the impact of Tropical Storm Ernesto, expected within 24 hours. The forecast of lesser winds expected from Ernesto and its projected direction convinced Launch Integration Manager LeRoy Cain and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach to return the shuttle to the launch pad. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
A 70mm camera was used to expose this image of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it began its race to catch up with Russia's Mir Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) occurred at 12:22:04 (EST) February 3, 1995. Discovery is the first in the current fleet of four space shuttle vehicles to make 20 launches. The launch pad and orbiter can be seen reflected in the water directly in front of it.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
A 35mm camera was used to expose this image of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it began its race to catch up with Russia's Mir Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) occurred at 12:22:04 (EST) February 3, 1995. Discovery is the first in the current fleet of four space shuttle vehicles to make 20 launches. The launch pad and orbiter can be seen reflected in the water directly in front of it.
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Flame Deflector Complete at Launch Complex 39B
2018-05-16
Construction is complete on the main flame deflector in the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flame deflector will safely deflect the plume exhaust from NASA's Space Launch System rocket during launch. It will divert the rocket's exhaust, pressure and intense heat to the north at liftoff. The Exploration Ground Systems Program at Kennedy is refurbishing the pad to support the launch of the SLS rocket and Orion on Exploration Mission-1, and helping to transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport.
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2009-06-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The slings from a large crane are being attached to the orbiter access arm, which ends in the White Room, that is part of the fixed service structure, or FSS, on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The White Room provided entry into space shuttles that were on the pad. The arm is being removed from the FSS for the pad's conversion as launch site for the Constellation Program's Ares I-X. The launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-06-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The slings from a large crane are in place on the orbiter access arm, which ends in the White Room, that is part of the fixed service structure, or FSS, on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The White Room provided entry into space shuttles that were on the pad. The arm is being removed from the FSS for the pad's conversion as launch site for the Constellation Program's Ares I-X. The launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-06-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The slings from a large crane are in place on the orbiter access arm, which ends in the White Room, that is part of the fixed service structure, or FSS, on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The White Room provided entry into space shuttles that were on the pad. The arm is being removed from the FSS for the pad's conversion as launch site for the Constellation Program's Ares I-X. The launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-06-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The slings from a large crane swing the detached orbiter access arm, which ends in the White Room, away from the fixed service structure, or FSS, on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The White Room provided entry into space shuttles that were on the pad. The arm is being removed from the FSS for the pad's conversion as launch site for the Constellation Program's Ares I-X. The launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-06-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The slings from a large crane are being attached to the orbiter access arm, which ends in the White Room, that is part of the fixed service structure, or FSS, on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The White Room provided entry into space shuttles that were on the pad. The arm is being removed from the FSS for the pad's conversion as launch site for the Constellation Program's Ares I-X. The launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2000-09-12
Even in this aerial view at KSC, the Vehicle Assembly Building is imposing. In front of it is the Launch Control Center. In the background is the Rotation/Processing Facility, next to the Banana Creek. In the foreground is the Saturn Causeway that leads to Launch Pads 39A and 39B.
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STS-102 crew talks to media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- During Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, the STS-102 crew takes time to talk to the media at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. From left to right are Commander James Wetherbee; Mission Specialists Yury Usachev, Andrew Thomas, James Voss, Susan Helms and Paul Richards; and Pilot James Kelly. Voss, Helms and Usachev are the Expedition Two crew who will be the second resident crew on the International Space Station. They will replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-87 Commander Kregel holds the crew patch in front of Columbia's entry hatch at LC 39B during TCD
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
STS-87 Commander Kevin Kregel holds the crew patch in front of Columbia's entry hatch at Launch Pad 39B during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The crew of the STS-87 mission is scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
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STS-104 crew pose for photo in Atlantis's payload bay
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- During payload walkdown at Launch Pad 39B, the STS-104 crew pause for a photo. At left are Commander Steven W. Lindsey (front), Mission Specialist Janet Lynn Kavandi (center) and Mission Specialist James F. Reilly (back). At right are Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt and Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include emergency exit training from the orbiter, opportunities to inspect their mission payloads in the orbiters payload bay and simulated countdown exercises. The launch of Atlantis on mission STS-104 is scheduled July 12 from Launch Pad 39B. The mission is the 10th flight to the International Space Station and carries the Joint Airlock Module.
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Mission Specialist Pedro Duque smiles at camera while at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA), smiles for the camera from Launch Pad 39B. The STS-95 crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Other crew members not shown are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinsion, and and Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.
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STS-102 crew meets with media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B, the Expedition Two crew poses for a photograph. From left to right are Susan Helms, Yury Usachev and James Voss. They are flying on Space Shuttle Discovery (seen in the background) as mission specialists for STS-102, joining Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot James Kelly and Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas and Paul Richards for the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station. Voss, Helms and Usachev will be replacing the Expedition One crew, who will return to Earth with Discovery. STS-102 will be carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 crew meets with media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- During Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, the STS-102 crew takes time to talk to the media at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. From left to right are Commander James Wetherbee; Mission Specialists Yury Usachev, Andrew Thomas, James Voss, Susan Helms and Paul Richards; and Pilot James Kelly. Voss, Helms and Usachev are the Expedition Two crew who will be the second resident crew on the International Space Station. They will replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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2009-02-12
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The faint sunrise sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center casts the newly erected lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B in silhouette. They surround the fixed and rotating service structures at center that have served the Space Shuttle Program. The new lightning protection system is being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the towers is 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers inspect the brick walls of the flame trench area that is located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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The STS-97 crew leaves O&C for Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
The STS-97 crew leaves the O&C Building on their way to Launch Pad 39B for a simulated launch countdown. Commander Brent Jett (right) leads the way with Pilot Mike Bloomfield behind him. Taking up the rear are (left) Mission Specialists Carlos Noriega, Joe Tanner and (right) Marc Garneau, who is with the Canadian Space Agency. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and the simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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STS-34 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B
1989-10-18
STS034-S-025 (18 Oct 1989) --- The STS-34 Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Launch Pad 39-B at 2:53:39:983 p.m. (EDT), marking the beginning of a five-day mission in space. Atlantis carries a crew of five and the spacecraft Galileo, along with a number of other scientific experiments. The Jupiter-bound probe will be deployed from Atlantis some six hours after launch. The journey to the giant planet is expected to take over six years. Crewmembers for the mission are astronauts Donald E. Williams, Michael J. McCulley, Shannon W. Lucid, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz and Ellen S. Baker. The scene was recorded with a 70mm camera.
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STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B KSC-01PD-1785 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour soars into a twilight sky on mission STS-108, the second attempt over two days. Liftoff occurred at 5:19:28 p.m. EST (10:19.28 GMT). Endeavour will dock with the International Space Station on Dec. 7. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. It is the 12th flight to the Space Station. Landing of the orbiter at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is targeted for 1:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. GMT) Dec. 16.
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STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B KSC-01PD-1786 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Like a lighted taper, Space Shuttle Endeavour shines atop its twisted contrail as it soars into space on mission STS-108. Liftoff occurred at 5:19:28 p.m. EST (10:19.28 GMT). Endeavour will dock with the International Space Station on Dec. 7. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. It is the 12th flight to the Space Station. Landing of the orbiter at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is targeted for 1:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. GMT) Dec. 16.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At the 195-foot level on the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B, members of the STS-102 crew relax after emergency escape training. From left are Mission Specialists Paul Richards, Andrew Thomas and Susan Helms, and Commander James Wetherbee. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Helms is part of the Expedition Two crew who will be on the mission to replace Expedition One on the International Space Station. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At the 195-foot level on the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B, members of the STS-102 crew relax after emergency escape training. At left is Pilot James Kelly; in the center and right are Mission Specialists Yury Usachev and James Voss. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Usachev and Voss are part of the Expedition Two crew who will be on the mission to replace Expedition One on the International Space Station. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Mission Specialists Yury Usachev (left), Susan Helms (center) and James Voss (right) take time to pose for the camera after emergency escape training on the 195-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B. They are the Expedition Two crew who will be flying to the International Space Station on mission STS-102 to replace Expedition One. The STS-102 crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-103 Discovery reaches to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery approaches Launch Pad 39B where the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency. The mission is targeted for launch Dec. 6 at 2:37 a.m. EST.
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
STS-97 Commander Brent Jett listens to a question from a reporter during a media session near Launch Pad 39B. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. The other crew members are Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega. Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
During Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, the STS-97 crew pause in the White Room at Launch Pad 39B for a photo. At left is Commander Brent Jett and crouching in front is Pilot Mike Bloomfield. Standing behind him are Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega. . Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. The TCDT includes emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:05 p.m. EST.
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View of the Endeavour moving towards it launch pad
1996-06-06
STS077-S-044 (16 April 1996) --- The Space Shuttle Endeavour atop the Mobile Launcher Platform and Crawler-Transporter (MLP/CT) slowly lumbers past a tree alongside the crawlerway, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B will take about five to six hours to complete. Once hard down at the pad, preparations will continue to ready Endeavour for its upcoming spaceflight on STS-77.
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2003-11-21
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) number 3 and a set of twin solid rocket boosters bolted to it, atop the crawler-transporter, crawl to the intersection in the crawlerway in support of the second engineering analysis vibration test on the crawler and MLP. In the background are Launch Pads 39A (right) and 39B (left). The crawler is moving at various speeds up to 1 mph in an effort to achieve vibration data gathering goals as it leaves the VAB, travels toward Launch Pad 39A and then returns. The boosters are braced at the top for stability. The primary purpose of these rollout tests is to gather data to develop future maintenance requirements on the transport equipment and the flight hardware. Various parts of the MLP and crawler transporter have been instrumented with vibration data collection equipment.
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Water Flow Test at Launch Complex 39B
2017-12-20
Water flowed during a test at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Complex 39B. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Mata, C. T.; Wilson, J. G.
2012-01-01
The NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Air Force Eastern Range (ER) use data from two cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning detection networks, the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System (CGLSS) and the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and a volumetric mapping array, the lightning detection and ranging II (LDAR II) system: These systems are used to monitor and characterize lightning that is potentially hazardous to launch or ground operations and hardware. These systems are not perfect and both have documented missed lightning events when compared to the existing lightning surveillance system at Launch Complex 39B (LC39B). Because of this finding it is NASA's plan to install a lightning surveillance system around each of the active launch pads sharing site locations and triggering capabilities when possible. This paper shows how the existing lightning surveillance system at LC39B has performed in 2011 as well as the plan for the expansion around all active pads.
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STS-102 crew talks to media at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- During Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, the STS-102 crew takes time to talk to the media at the slidewire basket landing near Launch Pad 39B. With the microphone (left) is Commander James Wetherbee; the others are (left to right) Mission Specialists Yury Usachev, Andrew Thomas, James Voss, Susan Helms and Paul Richards; and Pilot James Kelly. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Voss, Helms and Usachev are the Expedition Two crew who will be the second resident crew on the International Space Station. They will replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-90 M.S. Pawelczyk stands behind his children near Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-90 Payload Specialist James Pawelczyk, Ph.D., stands behind his two children, Bradley and Katlyn (left to right), as they smile to photographers near Launch Pad 39B. James and the rest of the seven-member crew are scheduled to launch aboard Columbia, seen in the background, on May 16 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. The astronauts are under strict health stabilization guidelines to protect them from close contact with persons who do not have health stabilization clearance. This is the 25th flight of Columbia and the 90th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program. This launch of Neurolab will examine the effects of spaceflight on the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and sensory organs in the human body.
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STS-95 crew members Glenn, Lindsey and Robinson at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-95 Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, smiles at his fellow crew members (middle) Pilot Steven W. Lindsey and (right) Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson while visiting Launch Pad 39B. The crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The other crew members (not shown) are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.
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2009-01-02
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, equipment surrounds the service structures for the construction of towers in the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. In the foreground is part of the giant crane used to place segments on the towers. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast (seen on the ground) atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2006-08-26
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The dark clouds of a heavy rainstorm moving into Kennedy Space Center in the late afternoon on Sat., August 26, 2006, seem to illuminate the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it sits on Launch Pad 39B. A lightning strike to the pad's lightning protection system on August 25, caused the mission management team to postpone the launch of mission STS-115 for 24 hours in order to review all electrical systems on the space shuttle and ground support equipment at the pad. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley.
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2006-08-26
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The dark clouds of a heavy rainstorm moving into Kennedy Space Center in the late afternoon on Sat., August 26, 2006, seem to illuminate the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it sits on Launch Pad 39B. A lightning strike to the pad's lightning protection system on August 25, caused the mission management team to postpone the launch of mission STS-115 for 24 hours in order to review all electrical systems on the space shuttle and ground support equipment at the pad. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Delivery
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank will be lifted and rotated for delivery to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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SKYLAB (SL)-III - LAUNCH - KSC
1973-08-17
S73-32570 (28 July 1973) --- The Skylab 3/Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 7:11 a.m. (EDT), Saturday, July 28, 1973. Skylab 3 is the second of three scheduled Skylab manned missions. Aboard the Skylab 3 Command/Service Module were astronauts Alan L. Bean, Owen K. Garriott and Jack R. Lousma. The Skylab 3 CSM later docked with the Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit. In addition to the CSM and its launch escape system, the Skylab 3 space vehicle consisted of the Saturn 1B first (S-1B) stage and the Saturn 1B second (S-1VB) stage. (The Skylab 1/Saturn V space vehicle with the space station payload was launched from Pad A on May 14, 1973). Photo credit: NASA
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1986-10-09
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center Director Lt. Gen. Forrest S. McCartney, far right, stands in front of the space shuttle Atlantis the morning after it is rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Standing with McCartney is, from right to left, Bob Sieck, director of Shuttle Management and Operations, Bill Warren, pad site manager, and Gene Thomas, director of Launch and Landing Operations. Photo credit: NASA
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker maneuvers a panel to build another cabinet to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers line up the new equipment cabinets. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, cabinets are being erected to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers put together another cabinet to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers put together another cabinet to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-103 Discovery crawls to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery stands poised in the open door of the Vehicle Assembly Building before its 4.2-mile (6.8 kilometer) crawl to Launch Pad 39B atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter. Once at the pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch targeted for Dec. 6, 1999, at 2:37 a.m. EST. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency.
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STS-103 Discovery crawls to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery clears the Vehicle Assembly Building (left) on its 4.2-mile (6.8 kilometer) crawl to Launch Pad 39B atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter. Once at the pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch targeted for Dec. 6, 1999, at 2:37 a.m. EST. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency.
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STS-103 Discovery crawls to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
With the American flag flapping in the morning breeze, Space Shuttle Discovery across the turn basin makes its 4.2-mile (6.8 kilometer) crawl to Launch Pad 39B (background, left) atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter. Once at the pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch targeted for Dec. 6, 1999, at 2:37 a.m. EST. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency.
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STS-97 crew poses for photo on Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
During Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities at Launch Pad 39B, the STS-97 crew poses for a photo at the 215-foot level. From left, they are Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Marc Garneau and Joe Tanner. Behind them at left can be seen the top of the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Endeavour. The TCDT includes emergency egress training, opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter'''s payload bay and a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:05 p.m. EST.
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STS-102 MS Helms, Usachev and Voss pose on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After emergency escape training on the 195-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B, STS-102 Mission Specialists Susan Helms, Yury Usachev and James Voss pose for the camera. The three are also the Expedition Two crew who will be replacing Expedition One on the International Space Station. Behind them, at left, can be seen the tops of the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Discovery. The STS-102 crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the Space Station, with Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-103 Discovery reaches to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery arrives at Launch Pad 39B where the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency. The mission is targeted for launch Dec. 6 at 2:37 a.m. EST aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
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STS-103 Discovery reaches to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
At Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Discovery towers against the hazy blue sky after a seven-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the STS-103 launch. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency. The mission is targeted for launch Dec. 6 at 2:37 a.m. EST.
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The STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
The STS-97 crew pose for photographers at the base of Launch Pad 39B. They are, left to right, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Carlos Noriega, Marc Garneau and Joe Tanner. Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Visible in the background are the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Endeavour. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
From the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, STS-97 Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega (at right, with microphone) describes the mission for the media. Next to him are Mission Specialists Joe Tanner (left) and Marc Garneau (center). The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. The other crew members are Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Mike Bloomfield. Mission STS- 97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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Analysis of the March 30, 2011 Hail Event at Shuttle Launch Pad 39A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lane, John E.; Doesken, Nolan J.; Kasparis, Takis C.; Sharp, David W.
2012-01-01
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Hail Monitor System, a joint effort of the NASA KSC Physics Lab and the KSC Engineering Services Contract (ESC) Applied Technology Lab, was first deployed for operational testing in the fall of 2006. Volunteers from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) in conjunction with Colorado State University have been instrumental in validation testing using duplicate hail monitor systems at sites in the hail prone high plains of Colorado. The KSC Hail Monitor System (HMS), consisting of three stations positioned approximately 500 ft from the launch pad and forming an approximate equilateral triangle, as shown in Figure 1, was first deployed to Pad 39B for support of STS-115. Two months later, the HMS was deployed to Pad 39A for support of STS-116. During support of STS-117 in late February 2007, an unusually intense (for Florida standards) hail event occurred in the immediate vicinity of the exposed space shuttle and launch pad. Hail data of this event was collected by the HMS and analyzed. Support of STS-118 revealed another important application of the hail monitor system. Ground Instrumentation personnel check the hail monitors daily when a vehicle is on the launch pad, with special attention after any storm suspected of containing hail. If no hail is recorded by the HMS, the vehicle and pad inspection team has no need to conduct a thorough inspection of the vehicle immediately following a storm. On the afternoon of July 13, 2007, hail on the ground was reported by observers at the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) and Launch Control Center (LCC), about three miles west of Pad 39A, as well as at several other locations at KSC. The HMS showed no impact detections, indicating that the shuttle had not been damaged by any of the numerous hail events which occurred on that day.
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Work will continue to repair or replace the bricks on the walls. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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2013-09-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a large bulldozer is used to remove the remaining portions of the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
STS-108 Endeavour Launch from Pad 39-B KSC-01PD-1787 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Spewing flames and smoke, Space Shuttle Endeavour hurtles into the twilight sky on mission STS-108. The second attempt in two days, liftoff occurred at 5:19:28 p.m. EST (10:19.28 GMT). Endeavour will dock with the International Space Station on Dec. 7. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. It is the 12th flight to the Space Station. Landing of the orbiter at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is targeted for 1:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. GMT) Dec. 16.
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2004-03-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This aerial photo shows the expanse of the Launch Complex 39 Area, bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and cloud-filled sky. At center right, towering above the surrounding sites, is the Vehicle Assembly Building. To the left, or north, is the Orbiter Processing Facility’s Bay 3. On the western side are OPF Bays 1 and 2. In the lower right corner is the Operations Support Building. The two-lane crawlerway stretches from the VAB toward the coast, site of Launch Pad 39A, closest, and Launch Pad 39B, far left. Between the VAB and the ocean sprawl the Banana Creek and the Banana River. The turn basin, at right, allows delivery of external tanks that are offloaded close to and transported to the VAB. Photo credit: NASA
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Ground level view of Apollo 14 space vehicle leaving VAB for launch pad
1970-11-09
S70-54121 (9 Nov. 1970) --- A ground level view at Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), showing the Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower, atop a huge crawler-transporter, were rolled out to Pad A. The Apollo 14 crewmen will be astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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2009-10-28
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With more than 12 times the thrust produced by a Boeing 747 jet aircraft, the Constellation Program's Ares I-X test rocket roars off Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and goes supersonic in 39 seconds. At left is space shuttle Atlantis, poised on Launch Pad 39A for liftoff, targeted for Nov. 16. Liftoff of the 6-minute flight test was at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired. The parts used to make the Ares I-X booster flew on 30 different shuttle missions ranging from STS-29 in 1989 to STS-106 in 2000. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews
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2009-05-11
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This photo taken from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida shows one of two lightning strikes that occurred on May 11 around 11 p.m. within a third of a mile of space shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39B. Engineers and safety personnel evaluated data and performed a walkdown of the pad and determined there is no damage to the vehicle or the pad. The images are from Kennedy's Operational Television cameras which can be used to triangulate the location of lightning strikes. Other detection systems include the Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Surveillance System, Strikenet/National Lightning Detection Network, Lightning Induced Voltage Instrumentation System and the Catenary Wire Lightning Instrumentation System. Endeavour is standing by on the pad, prepared for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA
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STS-28 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B
1989-08-08
STS028-S-007 (8 Aug 1989) --- Columbia is pictured just prior to clearing the tower at Launch Pad 39-B. The spacecraft renews flight after a period of three and a half years, this time with five crewmembers aboard for STS-28. Onboard the spacecraft are Astronauts Brewster H. Shaw Jr., Richard N. Richards, David C. Leestma, James C. Adamson and Mark N. Brown. The last time Columbia was in space was in January of 1986.
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1999-04-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Reflected in the turn basin at Launch Complex 39 Area, the Space Shuttle Discovery stands atop the crawler-transporter, which carries its cargo at 1 mph to Launch Pad 39B. The vehicle takes about five hours to cover the journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Liftoff of Discovery on mission STS-96 is targeted for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment
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2014-08-16
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - During a visit to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, singer-songwriter Brad Paisley records a public service announcement for the agency. Paisley also announced the release of a new song titled "American Flag on the Moon" with Launch Pad 39A from which the Apollo moon landing missions were launched in the background. The announcement drew an immediate response for astronaut Reid Wiseman, an Expedition 40 crew member in Earth orbit on the International Space Station. For more on Kennedy Space Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy. To read more of Wiseman's Twitter posts from the station, go to https://twitter.com/astro_reid. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter rolls toward Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from the pad to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-102 MPLM Leonardo is moved to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, an overhead crane begins lifting the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The MPLM is being moved to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39B and installation in Space Shuttle Discovery. The Leonardo, one of Italy'''s major contributions to the International Space Station program, is a reusable logistics carrier. It is the primary delivery system used to resupply and return Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Leonardo is the primary payload on mission STS-102 and will deliver up to 10 tons of laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies for outfitting the newly installed U.S. Laboratory Destiny. STS-102 is scheduled to launch March 8 at 6:45 a.m. EST.
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STS-102 MPLM Leonardo is moved to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers attach an overhead crane to the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The MPLM is being moved to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39B and installation in Space Shuttle Discovery. The Leonardo, one of Italy'''s major contributions to the International Space Station program, is a reusable logistics carrier. It is the primary delivery system used to resupply and return Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Leonardo is the primary payload on mission STS-102 and will deliver up to 10 tons of laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies for outfitting the newly installed U.S. Laboratory Destiny. STS-102 is scheduled to launch March 8 at 6:45 a.m. EST.
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2009-02-12
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The faint sunrise sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center casts the newly erected lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B in silhouette. The two towers at left contain the lightning mast on top; the one at right does not. At center are the fixed and rotating service structures that have served the Space Shuttle Program. The new lightning protection system is being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the towers is 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Koller, A. M., Jr.; Knott, W. M.
1985-01-01
Near field and far field environmental monitoring activities extending from the first launch of the Space Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center have provided a database from which conclusions can now be drawn for short term, acute effects of launch and, to a lesser degree, long term cumulative effects on the natural environment. Data for the first 15 launches of the Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A are analyzed for statistical significance and reduced to graphical presentations of individual and collective disposition isopleths, summarization of observed environmental impacts (e.g., vegetation damage, fish kills), and supporting data from specialized experiments and laboratory analyses. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the near field environment at Pad A, the effects on the lagoonal complex, and the relationships of these data and conclusions to upcoming operations at Complex 39 Pad B where the environment is significantly different. The paper concludes with a subjective evaluation of the likely impacts at Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 6 for the first Shuttle launch next year.
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the number of new equipment cabinets increases as workers put the elements together. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A near-empty Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is ready for the installation of racks of equipment. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker holds on to a cabinet being put together to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2008-05-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, panels stretch across the floor in preparation for erecting equipment racks. The firing room will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane is used to lift and rotate the tank before delivery to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane is used to lift the tank and rotate it before it is delivered to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Delivery
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane will be used to lift and rotate the tank for delivery to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane is used to lift and rotate the tank before it is delivered to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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Pre-flight views of orbiter Endeavour on way to launch pad for STS-77
1996-05-01
S96-07957 (16 April 1996) --- A road sign points to Launch Pad 39B, the final earthly destination for the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its final stepping stone into space. Endeavour began the slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at about 10:00a.m., April 16, 1996, perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform and carried by the Crawler-Transporter. Upcoming activities at the pad to prepare Endeavour for flight on STS-77 include installation of the payloads in the Orbiter?s payload bay.
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2014-07-21
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, work is underway to transform the center into a multi-user spaceport. Launch Pad 39B, in the foreground, is being modified to support the agency's new Orion spacecraft which will lift off atop the Space Launch System rocket. Orion is designed to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before, serving as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronauts to deep space and sustain the crew during travel to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars. On April 14, NASA signed a property agreement with SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and occupancy of Launch Pad 39A, in the distance, to serve as a platform to support SpaceX's future launch activities. For more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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ATLANTIS ROLLS OUT TO PAD 39A FOLLOWING HURRICANE FRAN THREAT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
A view from the flame trench looking up shows the Space Shuttle Atlantis, mounted on the Mobile Launcher Platform and Crawler- Transporter, as it arrives atop the hardstand at Launch Pad 39A. After the Shuttle and launch stand are in position, the crawler will be pulled back. This is the third time Atlantis has completed the journey to Launch Pad 39A in the STS-79 mission flow. The Shuttle was rolled back from the pad in July due to the threat from Hurricane Bertha, then rolled back again earlier this week because of Hurricane Fran. The targeted launch date for Atlantis on Mission STS-79 -- the fourth docking between the U.S. Shuttle and Russian Space Station Mir -- is now Sept. 16 at 4:54 a.m. EDT. The three rollout dates for Atlantis to Pad 39A are: July 1, Aug. 20 and Sept. 5.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1973-01-01
The launch operations test and checkout plan is a planning document that establishes all launch site checkout activity, including the individual tests and sequence of testing required to fulfill the development center and KSC test and checkout requirements. This volume contains the launch vehicle test and checkout plan encompassing S-1B, S-4B, IU stage, and ground support equipment tests. The plan is based upon AS-208 flow utilizing a manned spacecraft, LUT 1, and launch pad 39B facilities.
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The flame trench comes into view on Launch Pad 39A as a crawler-transporter hauls Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, off the pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter begins its climb to the hardstand at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from the pad to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, rolling away from Launch Pad 39A atop a crawler-transporter, was positioned over the pad's flame trench only moments before. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-106 crew gathers to greet family members
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
While meeting with family on the day before launch, the STS-106 crew poses for a photo. Waving, left to right, are Mission Specialist Richard A. Mastracchio, Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Yuri I. Malenchenko, Boris V. Morukov and Daniel C. Burbank. Malenchenko and Morukov are with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. In the background (left) is Launch Pad 39B and Space Shuttle Atlantis, with the Rotating Service Structure still in place. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:45 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. The first long-duration crew, dubbed '''Expedition One,''' is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. Landing is targeted for Sept. 19 at 4:59 a.m. EDT at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility.
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2001-12-05
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The STS-108 and Expedition 4 crews head for the Astrovan and a ride to Launch Pad 39B. Leading the way are Pilot Mark E. Kelly (left) and Commander Dominic L. Gorie; behind them are Mission Specialists Daniel M. Tani and Linda A. Godwin; next is Expedition 4 Commander Yuri Onufrienko, followed by astronauts Daniel W. Bursch (left) and Carl E. Walz. This is the second launch attempt after the first attempt Dec. 4 was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at KSC. The main goals of the mission are to carry the Expedition 4 crew to the International Space Station as replacement for Expedition 3; carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello filled with water, equipment and supplies; and install thermal blankets over equipment at the base of the ISS solar wings. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001 and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. Launch is scheduled for 5:19 p.m. EST (22:19 GMT) Dec. 5, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
From the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joe Tanner (center, with microphone) speaks to the press about his extravehicular activity (EVA) during the mission. With him are the rest of the crew, Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Mike Bloomfield on the left and Mission Specialists Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega on the right. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Visible in the background are the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Endeavour. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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The STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
From the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joe Tanner (center, with microphone) speaks to the press about his extravehicular activity (EVA) during the mission. With him are the rest of the crew, Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Mike Bloomfield on the left and Mission Specialists Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega on the right. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Visible in the background are the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Endeavour. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
Standing in the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, the STS-97 crew respond to questions from the media. They are, left to right, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega. Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. The nets suspended behind them are a braking system catch net for the slidewire baskets that provide emergency exit from the orbiter and Fixed Service Structure. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:05 p.m. EST.
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A technician installs a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A technician completes the installation of a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A technician installs a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians install a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in the Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The installation of new bearings on crawler-transporter 2 is underway in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians install a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The installation of new bearings on crawler-transporter 2 is underway in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Steady progress is made on the installation of new bearings on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A technician completes the installation of a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians complete the installation of a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians install a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2013-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Preparations are underway to install new bearings on crawler-transporter 2 in the Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter_bearings_prt.htm. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank has been lifted and rotated by crane and lowered back onto the flatbed truck for transport to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers check lines as a crane is attached to the tank to lift and rotate it before it is delivered to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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LH2 Liquid Separator Tank Lift, Rotate, and Move to Trailer
2016-11-17
A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane has been attached to the tank to lift and rotate it before it is delivered to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.
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2004-03-26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This aerial photo shows the expanse of the Launch Complex 39 Area, bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and cloud-filled sky. At center right, towering above the surrounding sites, is the Vehicle Assembly Building. To the left, or north, is the Orbiter Processing Facility’s Bay 3. On the western side are OPF Bays 1 and 2. South, near the roadway, is the Operations Support Building. The two-lane crawlerway stretches from the VAB toward the coast, site of Launch Pad 39A, closest, and Launch Pad 39B, far left. Between the VAB and the ocean sprawl the Banana Creek and the Banana River. The turn basin, at right, allows delivery of external tanks that are offloaded close to and transported to the VAB. At the western end of the Turn Basin sits the press mound, home of the NASA KSC News Center. Photo credit: NASA
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2008-11-25
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The new lightning towers are under construction on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is targeted for summer of 2009, as part of NASA’s Constellation Program. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs
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2006-05-19
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Near Launch Pad 39B, wild pigs (at right) root for food near a stand of trees while Space Shuttle Discovery rolls out to the pad. The 4.2-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 12:45 p.m. EDT. The rollout is an important step before launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 to the International Space Station. Discovery's launch is targeted for July 1 in a launch window that extends to July 19. During the 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the station. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley
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View of Apollo 15 space vehicle on way from VAB to Pad A, Launch Complex 39
1971-05-11
S71-33781 (11 May 1971) --- High angle view showing the Apollo 15 (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle on the way from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower are atop a huge crawler-transporter. Apollo 15 is scheduled as the fourth manned lunar landing mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The crew men will be astronauts David R. Scott, commander; Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. While astronauts Scott and Irwin descend in the Lunar Module (LM) to explore the moon, astronaut Worden will remain with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.
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2000-08-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians facilitate the transfer the STS-106 payload to Atlantis on Launch Pad 39-B using the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM). The payload within the SPACEHAB module is shown just after being loaded in the payload bay of Atlantis. The PGHM (pronounced pigem) is located inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of each shuttle launch pad Rotating Service Structure. The PGHM removes payloads from a transportation canister and installs them into the orbiter. It is essentially NASA’s largest fork-lift
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2000-08-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians facilitate the transfer the STS-106 payload to Atlantis on Launch Pad 39-B using the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM). The payload within the SPACEHAB module is shown just after being loaded in the payload bay of Atlantis. The PGHM (pronounced pigem) is located inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of each shuttle launch pad Rotating Service Structure. The PGHM removes payloads from a transportation canister and installs them into the orbiter. It is essentially NASA’s largest fork-lift
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter carries Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, away from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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STS-32 Columbia, OV-102, is positioned on the hard stand at KSC LC Pad 39A
1989-11-28
S89-51983 (18 Nov 1989) --- Roll-out of the Space Shuttle Columbia is completed as the vehicle, atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, is positioned on the hard stand at Pad 39A. The approximately eight-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 2:32 a.m. EST. This marks the first time a Space Shuttle has been at Pad A at Launch Complex 39 since January 12, 1986, when Columbia was launched on mission 61C. Pad A will next be used for the launch of Columbia and a five person crew on the STS-32 mission, presently scheduled for no earlier than December 18, 1989.
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, is glimpsed across the water as it departs Launch Pad 39A atop a crawler-transporter. A pad on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is in view in the background. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Preparing for Return to Flight, workers at KSC walk the grounds around Launch Pad 39B looking for Foreign Object Debris, or FOD. The pad was recently refurbished and any possible debris left behind must be removed from the area prior to launch. Foreign objects that are alien to flight systems may cause material damage or may make the system or equipment inoperable, unsafe or less efficient. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery will carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Discovery is scheduled for launch in a window from May 15 to June 3.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Preparing for Return to Flight, workers at KSC walk the grounds around Launch Pad 39B looking for Foreign Object Debris, or FOD. The pad was recently refurbished and any possible debris left behind must be removed from the area prior to launch. Foreign objects that are alien to flight systems may cause material damage or may make the system or equipment inoperable, unsafe or less efficient. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery will carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Discovery is scheduled for launch in a window from May 15 to June 3.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Preparing for Return to Flight, workers at KSC walk the grounds around Launch Pad 39B looking for Foreign Object Debris, or FOD. The pad was recently refurbished and any possible debris left behind must be removed from the area prior to launch. Foreign objects that are alien to flight systems may cause material damage or may make the system or equipment inoperable, unsafe or less efficient. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery will carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Discovery is scheduled for launch in a window from May 15 to June 3.
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STS-55 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, SSME abort at KSC LC Pad 39A
1993-03-22
S93-31601 (March 1993) --- The second Space Shuttle launch attempt of 1993 comes to an abrupt halt when one of the three main engines on the orbiter Columbia shuts down at T -3 seconds, resulting in an on-the-pad abort of Mission STS-55. This was the first time in the post-Challenger era that a main engine shutdown has halted a Shuttle launch countdown, and only the third time in the history of the program. In 1984, STS-41D was scrubbed at T -4 seconds when the orbiter General Purpose Computer detected an anomaly in a main engine, and in 1985, STS-51F was halted at T -3 seconds due to a main engine malfunction that caused shutdown of all three engines. Columbia had been scheduled to lift off from Launch Pad 39B is the Space Shuttle Discovery, undergoing preparations for lift off on Mission STS-56.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
A 35mm camera was used to expose this close-up image of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it began its race to catch up with Russia's Mir Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) occurred at 12:22:04 (EST) February 3, 1995. Discovery is the first in the current fleet of four space shuttle vehicles to make 20 launches.
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STS-87 Columbia rolls out to LC 39B in preparation for launch
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
The orbiter Columbia, mated to its external tank and two solid rocket boosters, is prepared to roll out of Kennedy Space Centers (KSCs) Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad 39-B. Columbia is scheduled to launch on Nov. 19 for STS-87 on a 16-day flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP)-4 mission. This mission also features the deployment and retrieval of the Spartan-201 satellite and a spacewalk to demonstrate assembly and maintenance operations for future use on the International Space Station.
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STS-112 Atlantis Launch from LC-39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Looking like a star balanced on a stem of smoke, Space Shuttle Atlantis shoots through the clear blue sky after launch on mission STS-112, the 15th assembly flight to the International Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B occurred at 3:46 p.m. EDT. Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss.
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STS-72 Liftoff viewed from left side of Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
The Space Shuttle Endeavour lights up the night sky as it thunders aloft from Launch Pad 39B. Liftoff of Mission STS- 72 occurred at 4:41:00.072 am EST, January 11, kicking off the 1996 Shuttle launch schedule. On board Endeavour are a crew of six: Commander Brian Duffy; Pilot Brent W. Jett; and Mission Specialists Dr. Daniel T. Barry, Leroy Chiao, Winston E. Scott, and Koichi Wakata, who represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. During their planned nine-day mission, the crew will retrieve the Japanese Space Flyer Unit (SFU), deploy and later retrieve the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-Flyer (OAST- Flyer), and conduct two extravehicular activities (EVAs). STS-72 is the 74th Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of the orbiter Endeavour.
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2006-06-27
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This radar image shows the presence of large birds around Launch Pad 39B. The data is being relayed from the avian radars recently set up on the pad. The computer is one of two set up in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
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2002-09-10
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After an early morning rollout, Space Shuttle Atlantis sits on the launch pad. Visible near the tail are the tail service masts that support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. After being stacked with its solid rocket boosters and external tank, Atlantis began its rollout to Launch Pad 39B at 2:27 a.m. EDT in preparation for launch to the International Space Station. The Shuttle arrived at the Pad and was hard down at 9:38 a.m. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Oct. 2 for mission STS-112, the 15th assembly flight to the International Space Station. Atlantis will carry the S1 Integrated Truss Structure, which will be attached to the central truss segment, the S0 truss, during the mission.
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The STS-90 crew wave to family and friends in front of Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
The STS-90 crew wave to friends and family members near Launch Pad 39B, from which they are scheduled to launch aboard Columbia on May 16 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. The crew include, left to right, Mission Specialist Richard Linnehan, D.V.M., Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Payload Specialists James Pawelczyk, Ph.D., and Jay Buckey, M.D., and Mission Specialists Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., with the Canadian Space Agency, and Kathryn (Kay) Hire. The Space Shuttle Columbia is seen in the background, protected by its Rotating Service Structure. This is the 25th flight of Columbia and the 90th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program. STS-90 is a nearly 17-day life sciences research flight that will focus on the most complex and least understood part of the human body -- the nervous system. Neurolab will examine the effects of spaceflight on the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and sensory organs in the human body.
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STS-103 Discovery crawls to Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Space Shuttle Discovery, atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler transporter, nears the top of Launch Pad 39B after a 4.2-mile crawl from the Vehicle Assembly Building. At left are the Rotating Service Structure and the Fixed Service Structure, which will enable final preparations of the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters for the STS-103 launch targeted for Dec. 6, 1999, at 2:37 a.m. EST. The mission is a 'call-up' due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The STS-103 crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, both with the European Space Agency.
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2001-12-05
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Eagerly stepping out from the Operations and Checkout Building are the STS-108 crew, leading the way, and the Expedition 4 crew as they head for Launch Pad 39B and Space Shuttle Endeavour. From front to back are, left to right, Pilot Mark E. Kelly and Commander Dominic L. Gorie; Mission Specialists Daniel M. Tani and Linda A. Godwin; Expedition 4 members Daniel W. Bursch, Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Carl E. Walz. This is the second launch attempt after the first attempt Dec. 4 was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at KSC. The main goals of the mission are to carry the Expedition 4 crew to the International Space Station as replacement for Expedition 3; carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello filled with water, equipment and supplies; and install thermal blankets over equipment at the base of the ISS solar wings. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001 and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. Launch is scheduled for 5:19 p.m. EST (22:19 GMT) Dec. 5, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B
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STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
Standing in the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, the STS-97 crew respond to questions from the media. Commander Brent Jett (on left, with microphone) introduces the rest of the crew (left to right) Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega. Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. The nets suspended behind them are a braking system catch net for the slidewire baskets that provide emergency exit from the orbiter and Fixed Service Structure. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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The STS-97 crew meets with the media at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01
Standing in the slidewire landing zone at Launch Pad 39B, the STS-97 crew respond to questions from the media. They are, left to right, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega. Garneau is with the Canadian Space Agency. The nets suspended behind them are a braking system catch net for the slidewire baskets that provide emergency exit from the orbiter and Fixed Service Structure. The crew is at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training, familiarization with the payload, and a simulated launch countdown. Visible in the background are the solid rocket booster and external tank on Space Shuttle Endeavour. Mission STS-97is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:05 p.m. EST.
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2009-10-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket clears the door of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on its way to Launch Pad 39B. The move to the launch pad, known as "rollout," began at 1:39 a.m. EDT. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2011-06-06
Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Workers using a large crane dismantle the final sections of the rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A dragonfly passing across the camera lens (center) pays no attention to the pad's deconstruction in progress. In 2009, the pad was no longer needed for the shuttle program, so it is being restructured for future use. Its new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. The new lightning protection system, which was in place for the October 2009 launch of Ares I-X, will remain. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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STS-91 Launch of Discovery from Launch Pad 39-A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
Some of Florida's natural foliage stands silent sentinel to the lift off of the Space Shuttle Discovery from Launch Pad 39A at 6:06:24 p.m. EDT June 2. On board Discovery are Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt; Pilot Dominic L. Gorie; and Mission Specialists Wendy B. Lawrence, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet Lynn Kavandi and Valery Victorovitch Ryumin. The nearly 10-day mission will feature the ninth and final Shuttle docking with the Russian space station Mir, the first Mir docking for the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery, the first on-orbit test of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas will be returning to Earth as an STS-91 crew member after living more than four months aboard Mir.
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View of Apollo 15 space vehicle leaving VAB to Pad A, Launch Complex 39
1971-05-11
S71-33786 (11 May 1971) --- The 363-feet tall Apollo (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle which leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower are atop a huge crawler-transporter. Apollo 15 is scheduled as the fourth manned lunar landing mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is scheduled to lift off on July 26, 1971. The crew men will be astronauts David R. Scott, commander; Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. While astronaut Scott and Irwin will descend in the Lunar Module (LM) to explore the moon, astronaut Worden will remain with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.
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STS-99 Endeavour rolls out to Launch Pad 39A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Framed by branches of oak leaves in this photo, Space Shuttle Endeavour, on its mobile launcher platform, is transferred to Launch Pad 39B via the crawler-transporter. The van behind it is barely noticeable next to the gigantic stature of the moving vehicle. Launch of STS-103 is targeted for Dec. 16 at 9:18 p.m. EST. The crew, comprising Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, and Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Jean-Frangois Clervoy of France, also with ESA, will be servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, replacing gyros, insulation and equipment in up to three space walks. Landing is targeted for Dec. 26 about 6:56 p.m. at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility.
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2006-06-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Radar technicians adjust two bird detection radars near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2006-06-22
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Bird detection radar is set up near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods
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2006-06-22
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Radar technicians set up bird detection radar near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods
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2006-06-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Radar technicians adjust two bird detection radars near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2006-06-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Radar technicians adjust two bird detection radars near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2006-06-22
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Bird detection radar is delivered near Launch Pad 39B before the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods
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2006-05-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The orbiter Discovery, on top of an orbiter transporter, heads toward NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) after leaving the Orbiter Processing Facility. The rollover to the VAB marks the start of the journey to the launch pad and, ultimately, launch. Once inside the VAB, Discovery will be raised to vertical and lifted up and over into high bay 3 for stacking with its redesigned external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery to Launch Pad 39B is expected in approximately a week. Launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 is scheduled to take place in a window extending July 1 to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2006-05-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The orbiter Discovery, on top of an orbiter transporter, rolls into NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) after leaving the Orbiter Processing Facility. The rollover to the VAB marks the start of the journey to the launch pad and, ultimately, launch. Once inside the VAB, Discovery will be raised to vertical and lifted up and over into high bay 3 for stacking with its redesigned external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery to Launch Pad 39B is expected in approximately a week. Launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 is scheduled to take place in a window extending July 1 to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2008-10-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Next to the waters of the Banana River, space shuttle Atlantis rolls away from the rotating and fixed service structures on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At far right is Launch Pad 39B where space shuttle Endeavour is seen. First motion of Atlantis was at 6:48 a.m. EDT. Atlantis is rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to await launch on its STS-125 mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis' targeted launch on Oct. 14 was delayed when a system that transfers science data from the orbiting observatory to Earth malfunctioned on Sept. 27. The new target launch date is under review. The space shuttle is mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform and will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building atop a crawler transporter. traveling slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The rollback is expected to take approximately six hours. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-10-27
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen through the windows of Firing Room One of teh Launch Control Center (LCC) at the Kennedy Space Center as it launches from pad 39b in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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Shuttle Atlantis travels to LC-39B for STS-76
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
The Space Shuttle Atlantis completes the journey to Launch Pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Atlantis is being prepared for a March 21 liftoff on Mission STS-76, which will be highlighted by the third docking between the U.S. Shuttle and the Russian Space Station Mir and the transfer of U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid to the station for an extended stay.
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1999-05-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A crawler transporter moves Space Shuttle Discovery, with its external tank and solid rocket boosters, from Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at left to repair damage to the external tank's foam insulation caused by hail. The external tank-solid rocket booster stack for mission STS-93, which was moved out of High Bay 1 to make room for Discovery, can be seen in the background between Discovery and the VAB. The necessary repair work could not be performed at the pad due to limited access to the damaged areas. The work is expected to take two to three days, allowing Discovery to roll back to Pad 39B by midweek for launch of mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program. This is only the 13th time since 1981 that a Shuttle has had to roll back from the pad. Liftoff will occur no earlier than May 27. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment
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1999-05-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On a beautiful Florida morning, a crawler transporter moves Space Shuttle Discovery (right, nearly hidden behind its external tank and solid rocket boosters) from Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at left to repair damage to the external tank's foam insulation caused by hail. The external tank-solid rocket booster stack for mission STS-93 was moved out of High Bay 1, which awaits Discovery's arrival with its door open. The necessary repair work could not be performed at the pad due to limited access to the damaged areas. The work is expected to take two to three days, allowing Discovery to roll back to Pad 39B by midweek for launch of mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program. This is only the 13th time since 1981 that a Shuttle has had to roll back from the pad. Liftoff will occur no earlier than May 27. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment
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1999-05-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A crawler transporter moves Space Shuttle Discovery, hidden by its external tank and solid rocket boosters, from Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for repair of damage to the external tank foam insulation caused by hail. The external tank/solid rocket booster stack for mission STS-93 was moved out of High Bay 1 to make room for Discovery and can be seen on the horizon between Discovery and the VAB. The necessary repair work could not be performed at the pad due to limited access to the damaged areas. The work is expected to take two to three days, allowing Discovery to roll back to Pad 39B by midweek for launch of mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program. This is only the 13th time since 1981 that a Shuttle has had to roll back from the pad. Liftoff will occur no earlier than May 27. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter begins its climb toward Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, on the hardstand at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move the MLP to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter nears the Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, positioned over the flame trench at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move the MLP to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter creeps toward Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, on the hardstand at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move the MLP to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crawler-transporter rolls under the Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, positioned over the flame trench at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are underway to move the MLP to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck sprays water along the crawlerway to reduce dust ahead of the crawler-transporter moving Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from Launch Pad 39A to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck sprays water along the crawlerway to reduce dust ahead of the crawler-transporter moving Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from Launch Pad 39A, in the background, to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2014-05-20
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The crawler-transporter transporting Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from Launch Pad 39A creeps along the crawlerway toward the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39. The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities. For more information on Launch Pad 39A, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167416main_LC39-08.pdf. For learn more about the crawler-transporter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167402main_crawlertransporters07.pdf. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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High angle view of Apollo 14 space vehicle on way to Pad A
1970-11-09
S70-54127 (9 Nov. 1970) --- A high-angle view at Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), showing the Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle on the way from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A. The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower sit atop a huge crawler-transporter. The Apollo 14 crewmen will be astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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High angle view of Apollo 14 space vehicle on way to Pad A
1970-11-09
S70-54119 (9 Nov. 1970) --- A high-angle view at Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), showing the Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle on the way from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A. The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower sit atop a huge crawler-transporter. The Apollo 14 crewmen will be astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour approaches the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour approaches the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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4. GENERAL VIEW OF LAUNCH PAD B FROM LAUNCH PAD ...
4. GENERAL VIEW OF LAUNCH PAD B FROM LAUNCH PAD A MOBILE SERVICE STRUCTURE; VIEW TO SOUTH. - Cape Canaveral Air Station, Launch Complex 17, Facility 28402, East end of Lighthouse Road, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Preparing for Return to Flight, workers at KSC walk the grounds around Launch Pad 39B looking for and picking up Foreign Object Debris, or FOD. The pad was recently refurbished and any possible debris left behind must be removed from the area prior to launch. Foreign objects that are alien to flight systems may cause material damage or may make the system or equipment inoperable, unsafe or less efficient. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery will carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Discovery is scheduled for launch in a window from May 15 to June 3.
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STS-26 crewmembers leave KSC O&C Bldg on their way to the launch pad
1988-09-29
STS-26 crewmembers, suited in launch and entry suits (LESs), leave the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building on their way to the launch complex (LC) pad 39B where they will board Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. Commander Frederick H. Hauck, waving to spectators, is followed by Pilot Richard O. Covey, Mission Specialist (MS) John M. Lounge, MS David C. Hilmers, and MS George D. Nelson. Others accompanying the crew are JSC Flight Crew Operations Directorate (FCOD) Director Donald R. Puddy, Astronaut Office Chief Daniel C. Brandenstein, and a Crew Training Officer Richard W. Nygren.
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2003-09-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Launch Pad 39A undergoes sandblasting of its metal structures and surfaces. Routine maintenance includes sandblasting and repainting as preventive means to minimize corrosion.
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2011-08-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the water tower (right) which supported the space shuttle's water deluge system still stands on Launch Pad 39B after the pad's deconstruction. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Near the top of the fixed service structure on NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, the new stabilizing arm (white) has been attached. The hardware is being reconfigured for launch of NASA's Ares I-X rocket, part of the agency's Constellation Program. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2009-09-10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, a second stabilizing arm is lifted for installation at the top of the fixed service structure. The hardware is being reconfigured for launch of NASA's Ares I-X rocket, part of the agency's Constellation Program. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
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2009-10-25
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.
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2009-10-27
NASA Ares I-X mission managers watch as NASA's Ares I-X rocket launches from pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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The SPACEHAB double module is moved into the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
This fish-eye view shows the SPACEHAB Double module being moved into the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39B before being transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay for mission STS-96. The second flight supporting construction of the International Space Station, STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies, a Russian- built crane and a U.S.-built crane, plus experiments such as STARSHINE, which was developed by and for students. Comprising the crew are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette, with the Canadian Space Agency, and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, with the Russian Space Agency. Liftoff is scheduled for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT.
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STS-90 M.S. Williams with the CSA waves to family and friends near Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-90 Mission Specialist Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., with the Canadian Space Agency speaks with friends and family members near Launch Pad 39B, from which he and the rest of the seven-member crew are scheduled to launch aboard Columbia on May 16 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. The astronauts are under strict health stabilization guidelines to protect them from close contact with persons who do not have health stabilization clearance. This is the 25th flight of Columbia and the 90th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program. STS-90 is a nearly 17-day life sciences research flight that will focus on the most complex and least understood part of the human body -- the nervous system. Neurolab will examine the effects of spaceflight on the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and sensory organs in the human body.
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STS-90 M.S. Kathryn Hire waves to family and friends near Pad 39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-90 Mission Specialist Kathryn (Kay) Hire waves to friends and family members near Launch Pad 39B, from which she and the rest of the seven-member crew are scheduled to launch aboard Columbia on May 16 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. The astronauts are under strict health stabilization guidelines to protect them from close contact with persons who do not have health stabilization clearance. This is the 25th flight of Columbia and the 90th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program. STS- 90 is a nearly 17-day life sciences research flight that will focus on the most complex and least understood part of the human body -- the nervous system. Neurolab will examine the effects of spaceflight on the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and sensory organs in the human body.
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Payload Bay Canister being transported to Pad 39A for a fit chec
2007-01-22
This payload canister is being transported to Launch Pad 39A for a "fit check." At a later date, the canister will be used to transport to the pad the S3/S4 solar arrays that are the payload for mission STS-117. The mission will launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis for the 21st flight to the International Space Station, and the crew of six will continue the construction of station with the installation of the arrays. The launch of Atlantis is targeted for March 16.
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2010-07-29
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This is a printable version of space shuttle Atlantis' orbiter tribute, or OV-104, which hangs in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the lower-left corner, it features Atlantis soaring above Earth and threaded through the design are the mission patches for each of Atlantis’ flights. Atlantis' accomplishments include seven missions to the Russian space station Mir and several assembly, construction and resupply missions to the International Space Station. Atlantis also flew the last Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission on STS-125. In the tribute, the planet Venus represents the Magellan probe being deployed during STS-30, and Jupiter represents the Galileo probe being deployed during STS-34. The inset photos illustrate various aspects of shuttle processing as well as significant achievements, such as the glass cockpit and the first shuttle docking with Mir during STS-71. The inset photo in the upper-left corner shows a rainbow over Atlantis on Launch Pad 39A and shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy. Endeavour was the assigned vehicle had Atlantis’ STS-125 mission needed rescue, and this was the last time both launch pads were occupied at the same time. The stars in the background represent the many people who have worked with Atlantis and their contributions to the vehicle’s success. Graphic design credit: NASA/Amy Lombardo. NASA publication number: SP-2010-08-161-KSC
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STS-112 Atlantis Launch from LC-39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis leaps from the steam and smoke billowing across Launch Pad 39B after an on-time liftoff of 3:46 p.m. EDT on mission STS-112. Along with a crew of six, Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss. [Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews
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STS-112 Atlantis Launch from LC-39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - -- Space Shuttle Atlantis races toward space just after liftoff from Launch Pad 39B on mission STS-112. Liftoff occurred on time at 3:46 p.m. EDT. Along with a crew of six, Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A to the International Space Station (ISS). The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss.
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2010-09-22
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, caps from the fuel tanks that serviced the shuttle's external fuel tank are seen in this image above the flame trench during deconstruction of Launch Pad 39B. Starting in 2009, the structure at Pad B was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2010-09-21
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction crews lay large wooden mats on top of sand and reinforcing steel to protect the concrete under the rotating service structure (RSS) of Launch Pad 39B during deconstruction. Starting in 2009, the structure at Pad B was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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The STS-93 crew practice emergency egress training from Launch Pad 39B.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Inside an M-113 armored personnel carrier at the launch pad, the STS-93 crew take part in emergency egress training under the watchful eyes of Capt. George Hoggard (center), trainer with the KSC Fire Department. From left are Mission Specialist Michel Tognini of France, Commander Eileen M. Collins, Hoggard, Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.). Collins is the first woman to serve as mission commander. Tognini represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The training is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that also include a launch-day dress rehearsal culminating with a simulated main engine cut-off. The primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to obtain unprecedented X-ray images of exotic environments in space to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. Chandra is expected to provide unique and crucial information on the nature of objects ranging from comets in our solar system to quasars at the edge of the observable universe. Since X-rays are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, space-based observatories are necessary to study these phenomena and allow scientists to analyze some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. The targeted launch date for STS-93 is no earlier than July 20 at 12:36 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B.
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2000-10-31
The cracked cleat on the crawler-transporter track that stalled the rollout of Space Shuttle Endeavour lies on the ground near Launch Pad 39B. The cracked cleat forced the reverse of the rollout back outside the pad gate so the cleat could be repaired on flat ground before moving up the incline to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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STS-87 crew in front of LC-39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
The crew of the STS-87 mission, scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), poses at the pad during a break in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) at KSC. Standing in front of the Shuttle Columbia are, from left, Commander Kevin Kregel; Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D.; Pilot Steven Lindsey; Mission Specialist Takao Doi, Ph.D., of the National Space Development Agency of Japan; Backup Payload Specialist Yaroslav Pustovyi, Ph.D., of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU); Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of NSAU; and Mission Specialist Winston Scott. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
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ATLANTIS ROLLS OUT TO PAD 39A FOLLOWING HURRICANE FRAN THREAT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
The Space Shuttle Atlantis completes the trip to Launch Pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building for the third time in the STS- 79 mission flow. The Shuttle was rolled back from the pad in July due to the threat from Hurricane Bertha, then rolled back again earlier this week because of Hurricane Fran. The targeted launch date for Atlantis on Mission STS-79 -- the fourth docking between the U.S. Shuttle and Russian Space Station Mir -- is now Sept. 16 at 4:54 a.m. EDT. The three rollout dates for Atlantis to Pad 39A are: July 1, Aug. 20 and Sept. 5.
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2009-10-26
NASA Ares I-X Launch Director Ed Mango monitors the launch countdown from Firing Room One of the Launch Control Center (LCC) at the Kennedy Space Center during the planned launch of the Ares I-X rocket from pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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Structural Analysis of Lightning Protection System for New Launch Vehicle
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cope, Anne; Moore, Steve; Pruss, Richard
2008-01-01
This project includes the design and specification of a lightning protection system for Launch Complex 39 B (LC39B) at Kennedy Space Center, FL in support of the Constellation Program. The purpose of the lightning protection system is to protect the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) or Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) and associated launch equipment from direct lightning strikes during launch processing and other activities prior to flight. The design includes a three-tower, overhead catenary wire system to protect the vehicle and equipment on LC39B as described in the study that preceded this design effort: KSC-DX-8234 "Study: Construct Lightning Protection System LC3 9B". The study was a collaborative effort between Reynolds, Smith, and Hills (RS&H) and ASRC Aerospace (ASRC), where ASRC was responsible for the theoretical design and risk analysis of the lightning protection system and RS&H was responsible for the development of the civil and structural components; the mechanical systems; the electrical and grounding systems; and the siting of the lightning protection system. The study determined that a triangular network of overhead catenary cables and down conductors supported by three triangular free-standing towers approximately 594 ft tall (each equipped with a man lift, ladder, electrical systems, and communications systems) would provide a level of lightning protection for the Constellation Program CLV and CaLV on Launch Pad 39B that exceeds the design requirements.
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STS-91 Mission Specialist Kavandi visits Pad 39A before launch
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
STS-91 Mission Specialist Janet Kavandi, Ph.D., visits Launch Pad 39A from which she is scheduled to be launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on June 2 around 6:10 p.m. EDT. In her pocket are flowers intended as gifts for her two children whom she will be seeing shortly. STS-91 will feature the ninth Shuttle docking with the Russian Space Station Mir, the first Mir docking for Discovery, the conclusion of Phase I of the joint U.S.-Russian International Space Station Program, and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. The STS-91 flight crew also includes Commander Charles Precourt; Pilot Dominic Gorie; and Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Ph.D.; Wendy B. Lawrence; and Valery Ryumin, with the Russian Space Agency. Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., will be returning to Earth with the crew after living more than four months aboard Mir.
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STS-91 Launch of Discovery from Launch Pad 39-A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1998-01-01
Searing the early evening sky with its near sun-like rocket exhaust, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at 6:06:24 p.m. EDT June 2 on its way to the Mir space station. On board Discovery are Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt; Pilot Dominic L. Gorie; and Mission Specialists Wendy B. Lawrence, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet Lynn Kavandi and Valery Victorovitch Ryumin. The nearly 10-day mission will feature the ninth and final Shuttle docking with the Russian space station Mir, the first Mir docking for the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery, the first on-orbit test of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas will be returning to Earth as a STS-91 crew member after living more than four months aboard Mir.
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Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads
1990-09-05
S90-48650 (5 Sept 1990) --- This rare view shows two space shuttles on adjacent pads at Launch Complex 39 with the Rotating Service Structures (RSR) retracted. Space Shuttle Columbia (foreground) is on Pad A where it awaits further processing for a September 6 early morning launch on STS-35. Discovery, its sister spacecraft, is set to begin preparations for an October liftoff on STS-41 when the Ulysses spacecraft is scheudled to be taxied into space. PLEASE NOTE: Following the taking of this photograph, STS-35 was postponed and STS-41's Discovery was successfully launched on Oct. 6.
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2006-06-23
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Two bird detection radars have been set up near Launch Pad 39B to get ready for the July 1 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2014-03-18
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a ground support technician assists with removal of bearings from the B truck tread of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. New roller bearing assemblies will be installed. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2014-03-18
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an old bearing has been removed from the B truck tread of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2, and loaded onto a forklift for disposal. New roller bearing assemblies will be installed. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2009-04-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The sound suppression system is tested on the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X flight test that is targeted for summer 2009. The mobile launcher platform was handed over to the Constellation Program and modified for the Ares I-X flight test. It is being tested before being moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for assembly of the Ares I-X rocket. A sound suppression water system is in¬stalled on the pads to protect against damage by acoustical energy and rocket exhaust reflected from the flame trench and mobile launcher plat¬form during a launch. The sound suppression system includes an elevated 290-foot-high water tank with a capacity of 300,000 gallons. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the rocket and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds. A torrent of water will flow onto the mobile launcher platform from six large quench nozzles, or “rainbirds,” mounted on its surface. The rainbirds are 12 feet high. The two in the center are 42 inches in diameter; the other four have a 30-inch diameter. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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2009-04-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The sound suppression system is tested on the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X flight test that is targeted for summer 2009. The mobile launcher platform was handed over to the Constellation Program and modified for the Ares I-X flight test. It is being tested before being moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for assembly of the Ares I-X rocket. A sound suppression water system is in¬stalled on the pads to protect against damage by acoustical energy and rocket exhaust reflected from the flame trench and mobile launcher plat¬form during a launch. The sound suppression system includes an elevated 290-foot-high water tank with a capacity of 300,000 gallons. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the rocket and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds. A torrent of water will flow onto the mobile launcher platform from six large quench nozzles, or “rainbirds,” mounted on its surface. The rainbirds are 12 feet high. The two in the center are 42 inches in diameter; the other four have a 30-inch diameter. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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STS-75 Mission Commander Andrew M. Allen in White Room
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
STS-75 Mission Commander Andrew M. Allen (center) prepares to enter the Space Shuttle Columbia at Launch Pad 39B with assistance from white room closeout crew members Paul Arnold (left), Dave Law and Bob Saulnier.
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Environmental Control Subsystem Development
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Laidlaw, Jacob; Zelik, Jonathan
2017-01-01
Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, part of Launch Complex 39, is currently undergoing construction to prepare it for NASA's Space Launch System missions. The Environmental Control Subsystem, which provides the vehicle with an air or nitrogen gas environment, required development of its local and remote display screens. The remote displays, developed by NASA contractors and previous interns, were developed without complete functionality; the remote displays were revised, adding functionality to over 90 displays. For the local displays, multiple test procedures were developed to assess the functionality of the screens, as well as verify requirements. One local display screen was also developed.
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2003-09-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker sandblasts the surface behind the Mobile Launcher Platform on Launch Pad 39A . Routine maintenance includes sandblasting and repainting as preventive means to minimize corrosion.
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2006-01-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from the east side, Launch Pads 39A and 39B tower over the bird-filled waters of the Banana River at NASA Kennedy Space Center. On the far right is seen the 300-gallon water tower. Rising above the fixed service structures are the 80-foot lightning masts that help protect the structures from lightning strikes.
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2011-03-30
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Battalion Chief David Seymour provides supervision while space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 crew members participate in M113 armored personnel carrier training near Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An M113 is kept at the foot of the launch pad in case an emergency exit from the pad is needed and every shuttle crew is trained on driving the vehicle before launch. Space shuttle Endeavour's six crew members are at Kennedy for the launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT, they will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper and micrometeoroid debris shields to the space station. This will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2011-03-30
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Battalion Chief David Seymour provides supervision while space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 crew members participate in M113 armored personnel carrier training near Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An M113 is kept at the foot of the launch pad in case an emergency exit from the pad is needed and every shuttle crew is trained on driving the vehicle before launch. Space shuttle Endeavour's six crew members are at Kennedy for the launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT, they will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper and micrometeoroid debris shields to the space station. This will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-10-25
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. In the waning twilight, the service structures on Launch Pad 39B (left) and the Mobile Launcher Platform carrying Space Shuttle Discovery glow with lights. The Shuttle began rollout to the pad at 2:04 p.m. EDT from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, marking a major milestone in the Space Shuttle Programs Return to Flight. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, STS-114, is targeted for May 15 with a launch window that extends to June 3. During its 12-day mission, Discoverys seven-person crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Commander James Wetherbee reaches for the release lever for the slidewire basket, used for emergency egress from the orbiter and pad. Behind him is Pilot James Kelly. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. In addition, the Expedition Two crew will be on the mission, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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2003-11-21
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) number 3 and a set of twin solid rocket boosters, atop the crawler-transporter, inch along the crawlerway in support of the second engineering analysis vibration test on the crawler and MLP. The crawler is moving at various speeds up to 1 mph in an effort to achieve vibration data gathering goals as it leaves the VAB, travels toward Launch Pad 39A (on the horizon at right; Pad 39B is at far left), and then returns. The boosters are braced at the top for stability. The primary purpose of these rollout tests is to gather data to develop future maintenance requirements on the transport equipment and the flight hardware. Various parts of the MLP and crawler transporter have been instrumented with vibration data collection equipment.
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Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1990-01-01
Rare view shows two space shuttles on adjacent Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads with the Rotating Service Structures (RSS) retracted. STS-35 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, is on Pad A (foreground) is being readied for a September 6 early morning launch, while its sister spaceship, Discovery, OV-103, is set to begin preparations for an October liftoff on Mission STS-41. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-90PC-1269. Also see S90-48650 for similar view with alternate KSC number KSC-90PC-1268.
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Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1990-01-01
Rare view shows two space shuttles on adjacent Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads with the Rotating Service Structures (RSS) retracted. STS-35 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, is on Pad A (foreground) and being readied for a September 6 early morning launch, while its sister spaceship, Discovery, OV-103, is prepared for an October liftoff on Mission STS-41. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-90PC-1268. Also see S90-48904 for a similar view with alternate KSC number KSC-90PC-1269.
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A repair crew works to remove a broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter moving the Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers stand by while the broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter is removed. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter, moving Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B, started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A worker adjusts equipment to remove a broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter moving the Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A repair crew works to remove a broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter moving the Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers stand by while the broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter is removed. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter, moving Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B, started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A worker adjusts equipment to remove a broken cleat (shoe) on the crawler-transporter moving the Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter started up the incline to the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. The gate is open to Launch Pad 39B where Space Shuttle Discovery remains on the pad after scrub of Return to Flight mission STS-114. The July 13 mission was scrubbed when a low-level fuel cut-off sensor for the liquid hydrogen tank inside the External Tank failed a routine prelaunch check during the countdown July 13, causing mission managers to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt. The sensor protects the Shuttle's main engines by triggering their shutdown in the event fuel runs unexpectedly low. The sensor is one of four inside the liquid hydrogen section of the External Tank (ET).
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Launch of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission
1971-01-31
S71-18395 (31 Jan. 1971) --- The huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida at 4:03:02 p.m. (EST), Jan. 31, 1971, on a lunar landing mission. Aboard the Apollo 14 spacecraft were astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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Launch - Apollo 14 Lunar Landing Mission - KSC
1971-01-31
S71-17621 (31 Jan. 1971) --- The huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 4:03:02 p.m. (EST), Jan. 31, 1981, on a lunar landing mission. Aboard the Apollo 14 spacecraft were astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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2009-10-26
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 shortly after NASA scrubbed the launch attempt due to weather. The flight test of Ares I-X, now scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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STS-78 Crew at Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
STS-78 flight crew members and their alternates pose in front of the Space Shuttle Columbia at Launch Pad 39B during a break in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities for that mission. They are (from left, standing) Alternate Payload Specialist Pedro Duque; Pilot Kevin R. Kregel; Mission Specialist Charles E. Brady, Jr.; Mission Commander Terence T. 'Tom' Henricks; Mission Specialist Richard M. Linnehan; Alternate Payload Specialist Luca Urbani; and Payload Specialist Jean- Jaques Favier. Kneeling in the foreground are Payload Specialist Robert D. Thirsk and Payload Commander Susan J. Helms. The TCDT includes a simulated full-scale countdown, crew pad egress training and other activities. During the nearly 16-day mission, the seven-member crew will conduct 22 medical, materials and physics investigations in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) located in Columbia's payload bay.
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STS-52 Columbia, OV-102, soars into the sky after liftoff from KSC LC Pad 39B
1992-10-22
STS052-S-053 (22 Oct. 1992) --- This low-angle 35mm image shows the space shuttle Columbia on its way toward a ten-day Earth-orbital mission with a crew of five NASA astronauts and a Canadian payload specialist. Liftoff occurred at 1:09:39 p.m. (EDT), Oct. 22, from Kennedy Space Center?s (KSC) Launch Pad 39B. Crew members onboard are astronauts James D. Wetherbee, Michael A. Baker, Tamara E. Jernigan, Charles L. (Lacy) Veach and William M. Shepherd, along with payload specialist Steven G. MacLean. Payloads onboard include the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS II), which will be deployed early in the mission, a series of Canadian experiments, and the United States Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1). Photo credit: NASA
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2001-03-08
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Clouds of smoke and steam seem to break away as Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off from Launch Pad 39B on mission STS-102. Liftoff occurred at 6:42:09 EST for this eighth flight to the International Space Station
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2009-03-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Program’s next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-03-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Program’s next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-03-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Program’s next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-03-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Program’s next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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2009-03-19
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Program’s next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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The Expedition Three crew poses for photo at Launch Pad 39A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Expedition Three crew poses in front of Space Shuttle Discovery on Launch Pad 39A. From left are cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Nikolaevich Dezhurov and Commander Frank Culbertson. Along with the STS-105 crew, they are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include emergency egress from the pad, a simulated launch countdown and familiarization with the payload. Mission STS-105 will be transporting the Expedition Three crew, several payloads and scientific experiments to the International Space Station aboard Discovery. The current Expedition Two crew members on the Station will return to Earth on Discovery. Launch of Discovery is scheduled no earlier than Aug. 9, 2001.
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Apollo 14 crew arrive at White Room atop Pad A, Launch Complex 39
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1971-01-01
The three Apollo 14 astronauts arrive at the White Room atop Pad A, Launch Complex 39, during the Apollo 14 prelaunch countdown. Note identifying red bands on the sleeve and leg of Shepard. Standing in the center background is Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, Chief of the Manned Spacecraft Center Astronaut Office.
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2003-09-12
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Sandblasting begins on the Mobile Launcher Platform on Launch Pad 39A to remove corrosion before repainting. Routine maintenance includes sandblasting and repainting as preventive means to minimize corrosion.
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The STS-93 crew exit the O&C Bldg. enroute to Launch Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
The STS-93 crew wave to onlookers as they walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building for the second time enroute to Launch Pad 39-B and liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia. After Space Shuttle Columbia's July 20 launch attempt was scrubbed at the T-7 second mark in the countdown, the launch was rescheduled for Thursday, July 22, at 12:28 a.m. EDT. The target landing date is July 26, 1999, at 11:24 p.m. EDT. In their orange launch and entry suits, they are (starting at rear, left to right) Mission Specialists Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.); Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby; Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.); and Commander Eileen M. Collins. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected unlock the secrets of supernovae, quasars and black holes. Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a Shuttle mission.
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The STS-93 crew head for the Astrovan enroute to Launch Pad 39-B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Flanked by security, the STS-93 crew wave to onlookers as they head for the 'Astrovan' a second time to take them to Launch Pad 39-B and liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia. After the July 20 launch attempt was scrubbed at the T-7 second mark in the countdown, the launch was rescheduled for Thursday, July 22, at 12:28 a.m. EDT. The target landing date is July 26, 1999, at 11:24 p.m. EDT. In their orange launch and entry suits, they are (starting at rear, left to right) Mission Specialists Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.), and Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.); Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby; and Commander Eileen M. Collins. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected unlock the secrets of supernovae, quasars and black holes. Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a Shuttle mission.
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2011-08-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cleanup of Launch Pad 39B is in progress. Sand, reinforcing steel and large wooden mats were placed over the pad's concrete surfaces during deconstruction to protect them from falling debris. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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View of Mission Control on first day of ASTP docking in Earth orbit
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1975-01-01
An overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, bldg 30, JSC, on the first day of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) docking in Earth orbit. This photograph was taken shortly before the American ASTP launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The television monitor in the center background shows the ASTP Apollo-Saturn 1B space vehicle on Pad B at KSC's Launch Complex 39.
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Saturn 1B space vehicle for ASTP moves from VAB to launch complex
1975-03-24
S75-24007 (24 March 1975) --- The Saturn 1B space vehicle for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, with its launch umbilical tower, rides atop a huge crawler-transporter as it moves slowly away from the Vehicle Assembly Building on its 4.24-mile journey to Pad B, Launch Complex 39, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The ASTP vehicle is composed of a Saturn 1B (first) stage, a Saturn IVB (second) stage, and a payload consisting of a Command/Service Module and a Docking Module. The joint U.S.-USSR ASTP docking mission in Earth orbit is scheduled for July 1975.
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Testing Requirements for Refractory Materials
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Calle, Luz Marina; Hintze, Paul E.; Parlier, Christopher R.; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark R.; Sampson, Jeffrey W.; Montgomery, Eliza M.
2011-01-01
Launch Pads 39A and 39B currently use refractory material (Fondu Fyre) in the flame trenches. This material was initially approved for the Saturn program. This material had a lifetime of 10 years according to the manufacturer, and it has been used for over 40 years. As a consequence, the Fondu Fyre at Launch Complex 39 requires repair subsequent to almost every launch. A review of the literature indicates that the gunned Fondu Fyre refractory product (WA-1G) was never tested prior to use. With the recent severe damage to the flame trenches, a new refractory material is sought to replace Fondu Fyre. In order to replace Fondu Fyre, a methodology to test and evaluate refractory products was developed. This paper outlines this methodology and discusses current testing requirements, as well as the laboratory testing that might be required. Furthermore, this report points out the necessity for subscale testing, the locations where this testing can be performed, and the parameters that will be necessary to qualify a product. The goal is to identify a more durable refractory material that has physical, chemical, and thermal properties suitable to withstand the harsh environment of the launch pads at KSC.
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Testing Requirements for Refractory Materials
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Calle, Luz Marina; Hintze, Paul E.; Parlier, Christopher R.; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark R.; Sampson, Jeffrey W.; Montgomery, Eliza M.
2010-01-01
Launch Pads 39A and 39B currently use refractory material (Fondu Fyre) in the flame trenches. This material was initially approved for the Saturn program. This material had a lifetime of 10 years according to the manufacturer, and it has been used for over 40 years. As a consequence, the Fondu Fyre at Launch Complex 39 requires repair subsequent to almost every launch. A review of the literature indicates that the gunned Fondu Fyre refractory product (WA-1G) was never tested prior to use. With the recent severe damage to the flame trenches, a new refractory material is sought to replace Fondu Fyre. In order to replace Fondu Fyre, a methodology to test and evaluate refractory products was developed. This paper outlines this methodology and discusses current testing requirements, as well as the laboratory testing that might be required. Furthermore, this report points out the necessity for subscale testing, the locations where this testing can be performed, and the parameters that will be necessary to qualify a product. The goal is to identify a more durable refractory material that has physical, chemical, and thermal properties suitable to withstand the harsh environment of the launch pads at KSC.
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Testing Requirements for Refractory Materials
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Calle, Luz Marina; Hintze, Paul E.; Parlier, Christopher R.; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark R.; Sampson, Jeffrey W,; Montgomery, Eliza M.
2012-01-01
Launch Pads 39A and 39B currently use refractory material (Fondu Fyre) in the flame trenches. This material was initially approved for the Saturn program. This material had a lifetime of 10years according to the manufacturer, and it has been used for over 40 years. As a consequence, the Fondu Fyre at Launch Complex 39 requires repair subsequent to almost every launch. A review of the literature indicates that the gunned Fondu Fyre refractory product (WA-1 G) was never tested prior to use. With the recent severe damage to the flame trenches, a new refractory material is sought to replace Fondu Fyre. In order to replace Fondu Fyre, a methodology to test and evaluate refractory products was developed. This paper outlines this methodology and discusses current testing requirements, as well as the laboratory testing that might be required. Furthermore, this report points out the necessity for subscale testing, the locations where this testing can be performed, and the parameters that will be necessary to qualify a product. The goal is to identify a more durable refractory material that has physical, chemical, and thermal properties suitable to withstand the harsh environment of the launch pads at KSC.
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STS-112 Atlantis Launch from LC-39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - -- Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves a billowingclouds of smoke and steam behind just after liftoff from Launch Pad 39B on mission STS-112. Liftoff occurred on time at 3:46 p.m. EDT. Along with a crew of six, Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A to the International Space Station (ISS). The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Dozens of media are gathered at the slidewire basket landing area on Launch Pad 39B to interview and hear comments from the STS-114 crew: Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Stephen Robinson, Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialists Charles Camarda and Soichi Noguchi, and Pilot James Kelly. Noguchi is with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight. It provides the crew of each mission an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities. The test ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cutoff. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the launch pad. STS-114 is designated the first Return to Flight mission, with a launch window extending from July 13 to July 31.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Dozens of media are gathered at the slidewire basket landing area on Launch Pad 39B to interview and hear comments from the STS-114 crew: Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Stephen Robinson, Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialists Charles Camarda and Soichi Noguchi, and Pilot James Kelly. Noguchi is with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight. It provides the crew of each mission an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities. The test ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cutoff. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the launch pad. STS-114 is designated the first Return to Flight mission, with a launch window extending from July 13 to July 31.
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2006-06-27
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This associated computer image shows data being relayed from the avian radars recently set up on Launch Pad 39B. The computer is one of two in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
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2006-06-27
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center, NASA Test Director Steve Payne points to laptop computers that will display data relayed from the avian radars recently set up on Launch Pad 39B. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
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2014-04-01
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ground support technicians install new roller bearings on the C truck of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
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Aerial view of STS-33 Discovery, OV-103, lifting off from KSC LC Pad 39B
1989-11-22
STS033-S-001 (22 Nov 1989) --- Lighting up the entire launch complex, the Space Shuttle Discovery heads toward an earth-orbital mission, devoted to the Department of Defense. Launch occurred at 7:23:29.989 p.m. (EST), November 22, 1989. The photograph was taken by Astronaut Michael L. Coats in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA).
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STS-34 Commander Williams in KSC O and C Bldg prepares for TCDT activities
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1989-01-01
STS-34 Commander Donald E. Williams is assisted by technicians with donning his launch and entry suit (LES) in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Operations and Checkout (O and C) Building prior to leaving for Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B during terminal countdown demonstration test (TCDT) activities. Williams also catches a few minutes of relaxation while reclining in his chair.
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STS-75 Mission Commander Andrew M. Allen suits up
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
STS-75 Mission Commander Andrew M. Allen completes suitup activities in the Operations and Checkout Building. STS-75 will be Allen's third trip into space, his first as commander. Allen and an international crew will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia awaits liftoff during a two-and- a-half-hour launch window opening at 3:18 p.m. EST.
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1998-04-17
STS-90 Mission Specialist Kathryn (Kay) Hire is assisted by NASA and USA closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Hire and six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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1998-04-17
STS-90 Payload Specialist Jay Buckey, M.D., is assisted by NASA and USA closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Buckey and six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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STS-70 Commander Terence 'Tom' Henricks suits up
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
STS-70 Commander Terence 'Tom' Henricks is donning his launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building with help from a suit technician. Henricks, who is about to make his third trip into space, and four crew members will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Discovery is undergoing final preparations for a liftoff scheduled during a two and a half hour launch window opening at 9:41 a.m. EDT.
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STS-70 Mission Specialist Nancy Jane Currie suits up
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1995-01-01
STS-70 Mission Specialist Nancy Jane Currie is donning her launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building with help from a suit technician. Currie has flown in space once before, on STS-57. Currie and four crew mates will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Discovery is undergoing final preparations for a liftoff scheduled during a two and a half hour launch window opening at 9:41 a.m. EDT.
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STS-105 Commander Horowitz tries on gas mask at Launch Pad 39A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A, STS-105 Commander Scott Horowitz puts on a gas mask as part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include emergency egress, a simulated launch countdown and familiarization with the payload. Mission STS-105 will be transporting the Expedition Three crew, several payloads and scientific experiments to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. The current Expedition Two crew members on the Station will return to Earth on Discovery. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Aug. 9, 2001.
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2001-03-22
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Viewed from across the turn basin at Launch Complex 39 area, Space Shuttle Endeavour leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3 (open door) atop a Mobile Launcher Platform and begins rolling to Launch Pad 39A via a crawler-transporter. The combined height of the Shuttle, MLP and transporter is 235.2 ft. (71.6 m). Once at the pad, routine launch pad validations will commence, verifying all vehicle and facility interfaces. Endeavour is expected to lift off on mission STS-100 on April 19, carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, to the International Space Station
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2001-03-22
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Viewed from across the turn basin at Launch Complex 39 area, Space Shuttle Endeavour leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3 (open door) atop a Mobile Launcher Platform and begins rolling to Launch Pad 39A via a crawler-transporter. The combined height of the Shuttle, MLP and transporter is 235.2 ft. (71.6 m). Once at the pad, routine launch pad validations will commence, verifying all vehicle and facility interfaces. Endeavour is expected to lift off on mission STS-100 on April 19, carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, to the International Space Station
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STS-5 crewmembers take part in countdown demonstration test (CDDT)
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1982-01-01
STS-5 crewmembers take part in countdown demonstration test (CDDT) at the launch pad 39, Kennedy Space Center. They are, left to right, Vance D. Brand, commander; William B. Lenoir, mission specialist; Robert F. Overmyer, pilot; and Joseph P. Allen, mission specialist.
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2011-11-30
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The mobile launcher, or ML, negotiates the 4.2-mile stretch of crawlerway between Launch Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Data on the ML collected from structural and functional engineering tests during its two-week stay on the pad will be used in the next phases of construction. The 355-foot-tall ML structure, which took about two years to construct, will be modified by NASA’s 21st Century Ground Systems Program to support NASA’s Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket that will launch astronauts into deep space on future exploration missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2005-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Space Shuttle Discovery lingers at the foot of Launch Pad 39B in the evening twilight. First motion from the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 2:04 p.m. EDT April 6, and the Shuttle was hard down on the pad at 1:16 a.m. EDT April 7. The Shuttle sits atop a Mobile Launcher Platform transported by a Crawler-Transporter underneath. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, STS-114, is targeted for May 15 with a launch window that extends to June 3. During its 12-day mission, Discoverys seven-member crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- An STS-102 crew member reaches for the release lever for the slidewire basket, used for emergency egress from the orbiter and pad. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. On the horizon in the background can be seen the Vehicle Assembly Building. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. In addition, the Expedition Two crew will be on the mission, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-102 crew poses on the FSS at Launch Pad 39B during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2001-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-102 Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas (front, left) and Paul Richards take their seats in the slidewire basket, used for emergency egress from the orbiter and pad. Behind them, other crew members climb into their basket. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. In addition, the Expedition Two crew will be on the mission, to replace Expedition One, who will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8.
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STS-87 crew in LC-39B white room during TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
The crew of the STS-87 mission, scheduled for launch Nov. 19 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), participates in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) at KSC. Standing, from left, Mission Specialist Winston Scott; Backup Payload Specialist Yaroslav Pustovyi, Ph.D., of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU); Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of NSAU; Pilot Steven Lindsey; Commander Kevin Kregel; Mission Specialist Takao Doi, Ph.D., of the National Space Development Agency of Japan; and Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1972-01-01
The huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 16 (Spacecraft 113/Lunar Module 11/Saturn 511) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, at 12:54:00.569 p.m., April 16, 1972. The launch is framed on the left by a large piece of dead wood in a body of water near the launch pad.
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2009-04-06
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Water cascades over the side of the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The sound suppression system is being tested on the platform. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X flight test that is targeted for summer 2009. The mobile launcher platform was handed over to the Constellation Program and modified for the Ares I-X flight test. It is being tested before being moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for assembly of the Ares I-X rocket. A sound suppression water system is in¬stalled on the pads to protect against damage by acoustical energy and rocket exhaust reflected from the flame trench and mobile launcher plat¬form during a launch. The sound suppression system includes an elevated 290-foot-high water tank with a capacity of 300,000 gallons. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the rocket and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds. A torrent of water will flow onto the mobile launcher platform from six large quench nozzles, or “rainbirds,” mounted on its surface. The rainbirds are 12 feet high. The two in the center are 42 inches in diameter; the other four have a 30-inch diameter. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2009-10-26
NASA Ares I-X Assistant Launch Director Pete Nickolenko, left, and NASA Ares I-X Launch Director Ed Mango monitor the launch countdown from Firing Room One of the Launch Control Center (LCC) at the Kennedy Space Center during the planned launch of the Ares I-X rocket from pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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STS-107 Columbia rollout to Launch Pad 39A
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Columbia, framed by trees near the Banana River, rolls towards Launch Pad 39A, sitting atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, which in turn is carried by the crawler-transporter underneath. The STS-107 research mission comprises experiments ranging from material sciences to life sciences (many rats), plus the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) that incorporates eight high priority secondary attached shuttle experiments. Mission STS-107 is scheduled to launch Jan. 16, 2003.
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STS-112 Atlantis Launch from LC-39B
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2002-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis roars into the clear blue sky from the billows of smoke below after launch on mission STS-112, the 15th assembly flight to the International Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B occurred at 3:46 p.m. EDT. Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss. providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss to the Station.
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour passes through the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. To the left is the Fixed Service Structure and Rotating Service Structure. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour is nearly through the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. To the left is the Fixed Service Structure and Rotating Service Structure. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour is nearly through the gate on its backward trek from Launch Pad 39B. A broken cleat on the crawler-transporter forced the reverse movement so the cleat could be repaired before moving up the incline to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour is again on level ground after its backward trek from Launch Pad 39B. A broken cleat on the crawler-transporter forced the reverse movement so the cleat could be repaired before moving up the incline to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour passes through the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. To the left is the Fixed Service Structure and Rotating Service Structure. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Perched atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, Space Shuttle Endeavour is nearly through the gate to Launch Pad 39B. To the right of the pad is a 290-foot tall water tower. To the left is the Fixed Service Structure and Rotating Service Structure. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour is again on level ground after its backward trek from Launch Pad 39B. A broken cleat on the crawler-transporter forced the reverse movement so the cleat could be repaired before moving up the incline to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour is nearly through the gate on its backward trek from Launch Pad 39B. A broken cleat on the crawler-transporter forced the reverse movement so the cleat could be repaired before moving up the incline to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2009-10-28
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A bow shock forms around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X test rocket traveling at supersonic speed. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and goes supersonic in 39 seconds. Liftoff of the 6-minute flight test from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida was at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired. The parts used to make the Ares I-X booster flew on 30 different shuttle missions ranging from STS-29 in 1989 to STS-106 in 2000. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews
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2000-11-10
Carried by an overhead crane, the P6 integrated truss segment travels the length of the Space Station Processing Facility toward a payload transport canister that will transfer it to Launch Pad 39B. At the pad, the Space Station element will be placed in Endeavour’s payload bay for launch on mission STS-97. The P6 comprises Solar Array Wing-3 and the Integrated Electronic Assembly, to be installed on the Space Station. The Station’s electrical power system will use eight photovoltaic solar arrays, each 112 feet long by 39 feet wide, to convert sunlight to electricity. The solar arrays are mounted on a “blanket” that can be folded like an accordion for delivery. Once in orbit, astronauts will deploy the blankets to their full size. Gimbals will be used to rotate the arrays so that they will face the Sun to provide maximum power to the Space Station. The STS-97 launch is scheduled Nov. 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST
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2000-11-10
The P6 integrated truss segment hangs suspended from an overhead crane that is moving it the length of the Space Station Processing Facility toward a payload transport canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39B. At the pad, the Space Station element will be placed in Endeavour’s payload bay for launch on mission STS-97. The P6 comprises Solar Array Wing-3 and the Integrated Electronic Assembly, to be installed on the Space Station. The Station’s electrical power system will use eight photovoltaic solar arrays, each 112 feet long by 39 feet wide, to convert sunlight to electricity. The solar arrays are mounted on a “blanket” that can be folded like an accordion for delivery. Once in orbit, astronauts will deploy the blankets to their full size. Gimbals will be used to rotate the arrays so that they will face the Sun to provide maximum power to the Space Station. The STS-97 launch is scheduled Nov. 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2004-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. During a simulated launch countdown/emergency simulation on Launch Pad 39A, the rescue team moves injured astronaut-suited workers out of the M-113 armored personnel carriers that transported them away from the pad (seen in the distance). Pad team members participated in the four-hour exercise simulating normal launch countdown operations, with the added challenge of a fictitious event causing an evacuation of the vehicle and launch pad. The simulation tested the teams rescue approaches on the Fixed Service Structure, slidewire basket evacuation, triage care and transportation of injured personnel to hospitals, as well as communications and coordination.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2004-01-01
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. During a simulated launch countdown/emergency simulation on Launch Pad 39A, the rescue team moves injured astronaut-suited workers out of the M-113 armored personnel carriers that transported them away from the pad (seen in the distance). Pad team members participated in the four-hour exercise simulating normal launch countdown operations, with the added challenge of a fictitious event causing an evacuation of the vehicle and launch pad. The simulation tested the teams rescue approaches on the Fixed Service Structure, slidewire basket evacuation, triage care and transportation of injured personnel to hospitals, as well as communications and coordination.
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1999-05-16
As the sun begins to rise, a crawler transporter moves Space Shuttle Discovery from Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repair of damage to the external tank foam insulation caused by hail. The necessary repair work could not be performed at the pad due to limited access to the damaged areas. The work is expected to take two to three days, allowing Discovery to roll back to the pad by midweek for launch of mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program. This is only the 13th time since 1981 that a Shuttle has had to roll back from the pad. Liftoff will occur no earlier than May 27. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment
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2009-03-25
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mobile Launcher Platform-1 nears the top of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida via the crawler-transporter underneath. The MLP has been handed over to the Constellation Program for its future use for the Ares I-X flight test in the summer of 2009. Seen around the service structures on the pad are the new 600-foot lightning towers and masts erected for the Ares launches. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ground Control System hardware was installed in MLP-1 in December 2008. The MLP is being moved to the launch pad to check out the installed hardware with the Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 equipment, using the actual circuits that will be used when the fully stacked Ares I-X vehicle is rolled out later this year for launch. Following this testing, MLP-1 will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to begin stacking, or assembling, Ares I-X. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2009-03-25
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mobile Launcher Platform-1 is moving to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida via the crawler-transporter underneath. The MLP has been handed over to the Constellation Program for its future use for the Ares I-X flight test in the summer of 2009. Seen around the service structures on the pad are the new 600-foot lightning towers and masts erected for the Ares launches. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ground Control System hardware was installed in MLP-1 in December 2008. The MLP is being moved to the launch pad to check out the installed hardware with the Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 equipment, using the actual circuits that will be used when the fully stacked Ares I-X vehicle is rolled out later this year for launch. Following this testing, MLP-1 will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to begin stacking, or assembling, Ares I-X. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2000-10-31
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Inside the gate to Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) start up the incline to the top of the pad. The crawler-transporter beneath the MLP, which moves the Shuttle at about 1 mph, has a leveling system designed to keep the top of the Space Shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5 percent grade leading to the top of the pad. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections
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2014-03-18
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ground support technicians apply heat to a casing that contains an old bearing on the B truck tread of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. The bearing will separate and out for removal. New roller bearing assemblies will be installed on CT-2. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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2011-08-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench remains at Launch Pad 39B after the pad's deconstruction. The trench is 450 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep with an inner inverted V-shaped steel flame deflector. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2011-08-03
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench remains at Launch Pad 39B after the pad's deconstruction. The trench is 450 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep with an inner inverted V-shaped steel flame deflector. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2007-11-18
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim, at right, practices driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier as the instructor beside him monitors his performance. The practice near Launch Pad 39B is part of training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus module to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony, and will expand the research facilities aboard the station. Launch is targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2007-11-18
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 Commander Stephen Frick takes time out from driving practice of the M-113 armored personnel carrier to pose for a photo. The practice near Launch Pad 39B is part of training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus module to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony, and will expand the research facilities aboard the station. Launch is targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2007-11-18
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 Pilot Alan Poindexter takes time out from driving practice of the M-113 armored personnel carrier to pose for a photo. The practice near Launch Pad 39B is part of training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus module to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony, and will expand the research facilities aboard the station. Launch is targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2007-11-18
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 Mission Specialist Leland Melvin takes time out from driving practice of the M-113 armored personnel carrier to pose for a photo. The practice near Launch Pad 39B is part of training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus module to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony, and will expand the research facilities aboard the station. Launch is targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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2007-11-18
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, of the European Space Agency, takes time out from driving practice of the M-113 armored personnel carrier to pose for a photo. The practice near Launch Pad 39B is part of training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus module to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony, and will expand the research facilities aboard the station. Launch is targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Launch - Apollo 14 Lunar Landing Mission - KSC
1971-01-31
S71-17620 (31 Jan. 1971) --- The huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 4:03:02 p.m. (EST), Jan. 31, 1981, on a lunar landing mission. This view of the liftoff was taken by a camera mounted on the mobile launch tower. Aboard the Apollo 14 spacecraft were astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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Lightning around the Apollo 15 stack prior to launch
1971-07-25
S89-41564 (25 July 1971) --- Lightning streaks through the sky around the Apollo 15 stack of hardware prior to the Apollo 15 launch. The huge 363-feet tall Apollo 15 (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle is scheduled to launch from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at 9:34:00:79 p.m. (EDT) on July 26, 1971. The prime crewmembers for the Apollo 15 mission are astronauts David R. Scott, commander; James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot; and Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot.
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1998-04-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-90 Payload Specialist James Pawelczyk, Ph.D., is assisted by NASA and United Space Alliance closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Pawelczyk and six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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1998-04-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-90 Commander Richard Searfoss is assisted by NASA and USA closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Searfoss and his six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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1998-04-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-90 Mission Specialist Richard Linnehan, D.V.M., is assisted by NASA and United Space Alliance closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Linnehan and six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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1998-04-17
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-90 Pilot Scott Altman is assisted by NASA and United Space Alliance closeout crew members immediately preceding launch for the nearly 17-day Neurolab mission. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Altman and six fellow crew members will shortly enter the orbiter at KSC's Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Columbia will lift off during a launch window that opens at 2:19 p.m. EDT, April 17
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Air-to-air view of STS-26 Discovery, OV-103, launch from KSC
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1988-01-01
Air-to-air view of STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, launch taken by T. Haydee Laguna, an airline passenger bound for Paradise Island in the Bahamas. She sent the photo of what she called 'the most beautiful sight this side of Heaven' to NASA along with a congratulatory letter. OV-103 is a small dot as it rises through the clouds from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B with a exhaust plume trailing behind it.
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Launch - Apollo XIV - Lunar Landing Mission - KSC
1971-01-31
S71-18398 (31 Jan. 1971) --- The huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 14 (Spacecraft 110/Lunar Module 8/Saturn 509) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida at 4:03:02 p.m. (EST), Jan. 31, 1971, on a lunar landing mission. This view is framed by moss-covered dead trees in the dark foreground. Aboard the Apollo 14 spacecraft were astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot.
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1999-12-07
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Todd Biddle, with United Space Alliance, inspects wiring in the aft compartment of Discovery before launch. Electrical wire inspections and repairs in the orbiter's payload bay, external tank umbilical and engine compartment have been ongoing for more than a month and are near completion. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 is scheduled for Dec. 11 at 11:42 p.m. from Launch Pad 39B. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope
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STS-77 MS Andrew Thomas suits up
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
STS-77 Mission Specialist Andrew S. W. Thomas finishes donning his launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building with assistance from a suit technician. A native of South Australia, the rookie astronaut joins a crew of five veterans on the fourth Shuttle flight of 1996. They will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Endeavour is undergoing final preparations for liftoff during a two-and-a-half hour launch window opening at 6:30 a.m. EDT, May 19.
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STS-103 Wiring inspections in the aft compartment of Discovery
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1999-01-01
Todd Biddle, with United Space Alliance, inspects wiring in the aft compartment of Discovery before launch. Electrical wire inspections and repairs in the orbiter's payload bay, external tank umbilical and engine compartment have been ongoing for more than a month and are near completion. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 is scheduled for Dec. 11 at 11:42 p.m. from Launch Pad 39B. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.
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STS-79 CREW COMMANDER WILLIAM F. READDY PREPARES TO ENTER ATLANTIS AT PAD 39A FOR TCDT
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1996-01-01
At Launch Pad 39A, the astronauts assigned to Space Shuttle Mission STS-79 are wrapping up Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities with participation in a simulated countdown. Shown here in the white room of the Orbiter Access Arm is Commander William F. Readdy. Besides the realistic launch day preparation, the TCDT also includes emergency egress training at the pad. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is undergoing preparations for liftoff on the fourth Shuttle-Mir docking flight no earlier than Sept. 12.
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STS-117 Rotating Service Structure move
2007-01-30
The rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39A has moved for the first time in more than a year due to maintenance and upgrades on the pad. Some of the work included sandblasting the structure to remove rust and repainting. In addition, the RSS was jacked up and a new upper-bearing race assembly installed where the RSS pivots against the fixed service structure and a half-inch steel plate added. Pad 39A is being made ready for its first launch in four years, the upcoming STS-117 on March 15.
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STS-117 Rotating Service Structure move
2007-01-30
The rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39A is being moved for the first time in more than a year due to maintenance and upgrades on the pad. Some of the work included sandblasting the structure to remove rust and repainting. In addition, the RSS was jacked up and a new upper-bearing race assembly installed where the RSS pivots against the fixed service structure and a half-inch steel plate added. Pad 39A is being made ready for its first launch in four years, the upcoming STS-117 on March 15.
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Hail Disrometer Array for Launch Systems Support
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lane, John E.; Sharp, David W.; Kasparis, Takis C.; Doesken, Nolan J.
2008-01-01
Prior to launch, the space shuttle might be described as a very large thermos bottle containing substantial quantities of cryogenic fuels. Because thermal insulation is a critical design requirement, the external wall of the launch vehicle fuel tank is covered with an insulating foam layer. This foam is fragile and can be damaged by very minor impacts, such as that from small- to medium-size hail, which may go unnoticed. In May 1999, hail damage to the top of the External Tank (ET) of STS-96 required a rollback from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for repair of the insulating foam. Because of the potential for hail damage to the ET while exposed to the weather, a vigilant hail sentry system using impact transducers was developed as a hail damage warning system and to record and quantify hail events. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Hail Monitor System, a joint effort of the NASA and University Affiliated Spaceport Technology Development Contract (USTDC) Physics Labs, was first deployed for operational testing in the fall of 2006. Volunteers from the Community Collaborative Rain. Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) in conjunction with Colorado State University were and continue to be active in testing duplicate hail monitor systems at sites in the hail prone high plains of Colorado. The KSC Hail Monitor System (HMS), consisting of three stations positioned approximately 500 ft from the launch pad and forming an approximate equilateral triangle (see Figure 1), was deployed to Pad 39B for support of STS-115. Two months later, the HMS was deployed to Pad 39A for support of STS-116. During support of STS-117 in late February 2007, an unusual hail event occurred in the immediate vicinity of the exposed space shuttle and launch pad. Hail data of this event was collected by the HMS and analyzed. Support of STS-118 revealed another important application of the hail monitor system. Ground Instrumentation personnel check the hail monitors daily when a vehicle is on the launch pad, with special attention after any storm suspected of containing hail. If no hail is recorded by the HMS, the vehicle and pad inspection team has no need to conduct a thorough inspection of the vehicle immediately following a storm. On the afternoon of July 13, 2007, hail on the ground was reported by observers at the VAB, about three miles west of Pad 39A, as well as at several other locations around Kennedy Space Center. The HMS showed no impact detections, indicating that the shuttle had not been damaged by any of the numerous hail events which occurred that day.
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2000-08-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During the transfer the STS-106 payload to Atlantis on Launch Pad 39-B, a technician turns a switch to move the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM). The mechanism is located inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of each shuttle launch pad’s Rotating Service Structure. The PGHM (pronounced pigem) removes payloads from a transportation canister and installs them into the orbiter. It is essentially NASA’s largest fork-lift
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2000-08-16
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-106 payload within the SPACEHAB Module is shown after being loaded onto Atlantis on Launch Pad 39-B using the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM). The PGHM (pronounced pigem) is located inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of each shuttle launch pad’s Rotating Service Structure. The PGHM removes payloads from a transportation canister and installs them into the orbiter. It is essentially NASA’s largest fork-lift