Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
| KSC LC-39 | |
|---|---|
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| A view over the area of the Launch Complex 39 | |
| Coordinates | 28 ° 37 '4 " N , 80 ° 36' 45" W |
| Type | Orbital Launch Site |
| operator |
 NASA
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| start of building | 1956 |
| Launch pads | 2 |
| Min. Inclination | 28 ° |
| Max. Inclination | 57 ° |
| Missiles |
Saturn V 1967 to 1973 Saturn IB |
 
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Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is an active launch site of NASA and the only launch site at Kennedy Space Center . Launch Complex 39 includes two launch ramps . It is located on Cape Canaveral in Florida , USA .
NASA started most of its manned flights from here, from Apollo 8 all of the Apollo program and then all space shuttles . In addition, LC-39 was provided for the Ares missiles as part of the now discontinued Constellation program ; however, only the Ares IX was used on a test basis.
The private company SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets from the LC-39A ; In addition, the launch complex is planned for the new heavy-lift rocket Starship and Super Heavy .
NASA plans to launch its new heavy-lift rocket Space Launch System from the LC-39B. Northrop Grumman agreed to use this launch site for the Omega . The first flights of both rockets are planned for 2021.
Apollo
Due to the oversize of the Saturn V , the plan arose to build a new, NASA-owned launch site instead of modifying a launch site on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). For this purpose, an area a little north of the CCAFS was chosen in order to be able to continue to use buildings there.
The launch systems
The entire complex was originally intended to have five launch ramps, three of which were to be built and two to be kept in reserve. The three that were to be built were to be named LC-39A, LC-39B, and LC-39C, from north to south. However, LC-39A was never built, so LC-39C was renamed LC-39A in 1963. The only obvious indication for planning additional launch pads is a fork in the crawlerway, approximately 1.6 km west of LC-39A and 2.4 km south of LC-39B.
The launch system itself is made of concrete. A 250 m long 5% incline leads to the 13 m high fire shaft. In this so-called “Clear Pad” there is a room that houses the computer technology required for the start. There were also four lightning rods, several equipment rooms and the supports on which the mobile launch platform is stored. In addition, the tanks for the liquid fuels were built.
Vehicle Assembly Building
The main building of what was then called the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) was built on an area of 157.9 m × 134.7 m and at that time was the largest hall building in the world with a height of 160.3 m. Up to three Saturn Vs could be set up in its four “High Bays”. The remaining cell was kept free for other purposes. A "low bay" adjoins it. It is 83.5 m long, 134.7 m wide and 64 m high. The rocket parts were delivered and checked in it.
Other facilities
The crawlerway connects the two launch systems with the VAB. It consists of two 12.2 m wide lanes and a 15.2 m wide median. The driving surface consists of four layers so that the weight of the crawler transporter including the launch platform and spacecraft can be carried. The top layer consists of river gravel 10 cm thick on straight sections and 20 cm in curves. This is followed by a 30 cm asphalt mixture, 90 cm limestone and 80 cm fillers. The driving distance is 5.5 km to the LC-39A and 6.8 km to the LC-39B.
The two crawler transporters are the second largest means of land transport worldwide, but they are correspondingly slow. They are 40 m long, 34.7 m wide and 6.1 m high. Their maximum speed is 3.2 km / h without and 1.6 km / h with a spacecraft. Each vehicle has two 2050 kW diesel engines , which in turn drive four 1000 kW generators. The energy generated in this way drives the 16 drive motors. They also supply the monitoring monitors in both driver's cabs. In addition, there is the hydraulic system that holds the mobile launch platform and spacecraft in a vertical position while the crawler tackles the 5% incline.
One of the buildings that do not belong directly to the LC-39, but are required for operation there, is the launch control center that was built at the same time. It is a little south of the VAB. From there, the start preparations are monitored during the countdown. In addition, the start is initiated from here.
Another building that has been taken over, however, is the Operations and Checkout Building at the north end of Cape Caneveral Air Force Station. There the Apollo spaceships were assembled and checked. In addition, the astronauts lived there before the start.
Apollo program
During the Apollo program, 17 rockets were launched by LC-39, with 12 Saturn Vs from LC-39A (two test flights, nine Apollo missions and Skylab ). From LC-39B, Apollo 10 started as the only mission with a Saturn V. Skylab 2 , 3 and 4 and the Apollo-Soyuz-Test-Project also started from LC-39B, but with a Saturn IB, for the one on the mobile launch platform Shortening had to be attached.
Shuttle project
During the Apollo program, NASA decided in the late 1960s to develop a reusable space glider - the Space Shuttle . For the launch of this new missile type LC-39 should be used, which had to be partially converted for this purpose.
Conversions and new buildings
The launch systems
The most visible change took place on the two launch sites. There the lightning rods were dismantled first on the LC-39A, then also on the LC-39B. The equipment was modernized before the new, fixed launch tower was built on the pad. All access routes and fuel lines run through it. In addition, the rotating service structure , which can be used to transport larger payloads into the shuttle's loading bay, is attached to this fixed service structure . In addition, an escape cable car is attached to it, which enables the crew to quickly leave the launch pad in an emergency.
Orbiter Processing Facility
The three buildings called Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) are not far from the VAB. They are not part of the launch complex, but were needed to maintain the shuttles. OPF 1 and 2 were built to the west and OPF 3 to the northwest of the VAB. While a low bay is adjacent to OPF 3, 1 and 2 are connected by one. All buildings are constructed in the same way.
Further modifications
In the VAB, now called the Vehicle Assembly Building, some cranes had to be rebuilt so that the external tank and orbiter could be attached. In addition, the launch platforms had to be heavily modified as the launch tower was no longer needed on them and a second opening had to be created for the other booster.
The shuttle program
In the course of the shuttle program, 135 missions were launched by the LC-39, 81 of them from the LC-39A and 54 from the LC-39B.
After the space shuttle
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After the Columbia disaster , the US Congress ordered the shuttle fleet to be retired by 2010. In 2004, US President George W. Bush announced that NASA should tackle a moon landing by 2020 . NASA then started the Constellation program , but it was canceled in February 2010. A year later it was announced that NASA was planning to release parts of the Kennedy Space Center for private use.
The next renovation
LC-39A
LC-39A was initially only deactivated after the last shuttle landed. For the Constellation program, it was planned to treat the launch system like LC-39B, but not to install a rail rescue system, as initially only unmanned launches were planned from here. After the Constellation program ended, it was initially unclear what was to be done with this launch pad.
On April 14, 2014, SpaceX signed a 20-year lease agreement with NASA to use the LC-39A. A new hangar was built on the Crawlerweg and completed at the end of 2015. Since February 19, 2017, all Falcon Heavy have been launched from the LC-39A Falcon-9 rocket and since the Falcon Heavy Demonstration Mission on February 6, 2018 . In order to enable SpX-DM2 to launch a Falcon 9 with the manned Dragon-2 capsule , the launch tower , known as the Fixed Service Structure , was renovated and provided with a new, pivoting access bridge. The rotating service structure was demolished.
In September 2019, the construction of a launch pad for the "Mars rocket" Starship and Super Heavy began on the LC-39A .
LC-39B
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LC-39B was decommissioned on January 1, 2007 after the launch of STS-116 by NASA. In November 2007 the construction of three 180 m high lightning rod masts began. The shuttle Endeavor was held on the ramp until May 2009 for a possible rescue mission of the last Hubble maintenance mission , but the actual take-off would have taken place from the LC-39A. In June 2009 the actual renovation for the Constellation program began. For this purpose, the complete launch tower was dismantled and the equipment modernized. A video documents this demolition. The exit section of the “roller coaster” rail rescue system was rebuilt, a replacement for the former cable car system.
On October 28, 2009, before the demolition, the Ares IX test started from here , although the Constellation program had already been discontinued at that time.
The Space Launch System (SLS) of the LC-39B should start in 2021 . This new missile system serves as the carrier of the Orion spaceship and should be able to transport up to 4 space travelers on missions beyond the low earth orbit (LEO) from 2022 . NASA is also making this ramp available to Northrop Grumman for the launch of the new Omega rocket .
LC-39C
In July 2015, NASA completed a new, smaller launch pad inside the LC-39B. It is intended for smaller companies such as B. Firefly Space Systems , provide an infrastructure for space launches in the future.
Mobile starting system
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A new launch tower was built for the Constellation program and the crawler transporters should have been reinforced for the heavy Ares V rocket .
As part of the SLS program, the Crawler-Transporter 2 (CT-2) was then equipped with four new roller bearings in order to be able to carry the greater weight of the SLS rocket and the launch tower. The other two transporters should follow.
The already existing mobile launch tower was driven to the LC-39B on November 16, 2011 for test purposes via the crawler route. The corresponding modifications for the SLS had not yet been carried out at this point in time.
Orbiter Processing Facility
The OPF-3 was leased to Boeing in October 2011, which plans to assemble, test and prepare the CST-100 Starliner there . OPF-1 and OPF-2 went to the US Air Force in 2014 for further use in the X-37B program .
Further modifications
The VAB is being converted again so that the SLS can be set up there. A first platform was installed in December 2015. A total of ten platforms are required for the SLS, each of which consists of two halves and can thus be brought up to and removed from the rocket.
Start list
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eric Ralph: SpaceX's Starship / Super Heavy rocket needs a launch pad and work is already starting. In: Teslarati. July 8, 2019, accessed July 8, 2019 .
- ^ NASA and Northrop Grumman Sign Agreement for Use of Shuttle-era Facilities . Kennedy Space Center press release August 1, 2019.
- ↑ The bucket wheel excavator Bagger 293 used in the Hambach opencast mine is considered the largest means of transport worldwide .
- ^ NASA Explores Potential New Users For Some Kennedy Facilities
- ↑ SpaceX breaks ground on Starship, Super Heavy launch facilities at Pad 39A . Teslarati, September 18, 2019.
- ↑ Launch Pad 39B Timelapse YouTube
- ^ Robert Z. Pearlman: Northrop Grumman test fires new OmegA rocket second stage motor in Utah . Space.com, February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Chris Bergin: KSC constructing a “Launch Pad in a Box” at Pad 39B. NasaSpaceflight, May 9, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Marshall Murphy: Delving deeper into KSC's transformation into a multi-user spaceport. NasaSpaceflight, October 12, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016 .
- ^ New Roller Bearings Tested on Crawler-transporter 2. NASA, February 10, 2014, accessed on February 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Crawler-Transporters (PDF). NASA, February 2014, accessed February 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Mobile Launcher Moves to Launch Pad. NASA, November 16, 2011, accessed February 15, 2016 .
- ^ First Work Platform for NASA's Space Launch System Installed in Vehicle Assembly Building. NASA, December 23, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016 .
Web links
- Launch Complex 39-A & 39-B , NASA (English)
- Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations , NASA-History (English)
- Countdown! NASA Launch Vehicles and Facilities ( Memento August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). Historical information from NASA (as of 2000); LC 39A and 39B can be selected below
- Information about the planned starting place for Starship and Super Heavy . SpaceX, July 2019 (PDF; 21 MB)