Launch Complex 39B
USA /
Florida /
Titusville /
World
/ USA
/ Florida
/ Titusville
World / United States / Florida
NASA, interesting place, rocket launch pad
First used in May, 1969 for the Apollo 10 lunar dress-rehersal mission (the LM "Snoopy" descended to 50,000 ft. before returning to the CSM "Charlie Brown"), LC-39B was kept as a backup launchpad during the manned lunar landings in the case the nearby LC-39A facility was destroyed. LC-39B was also used for all three manned Skylab missions and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project before being converted for Space Shuttle use.
Its first mission in the Shuttle era was that for the January 1986 flight STS-51-L, in which the Challenger orbiter was destroyed 73 seconds into the flight due to a failure in a Solid Rocket Booster O-ring seal. Last used in December 2006 for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station, LC-39B was deactivated on January 1, 2007 and conversion was begun by NASA to support the launch of the Ares I "Stick" rocket and its Orion spacecraft payload. While conversion was underway, LC-39B hosted its final Space Shuttle during the STS-125 mission when Shuttle Endeavour was placed on LC-39B in the event NASA needed to launch the STS-400 rescue mission.
Following STS-125, contractors completed their conversion of LC-39B for the test flight of Ares I-X, which was successfully completed on October 28, 2009. Operating in a "clean pad" approach similar to that of the Apollo Program, LC-39B saw its FSS structure demolished and much of its Shuttle-era infrastructure removed, with the exception of the LH2, LOX, and water tanks (used for the sound suppression system) remaining.
As of February 2011, NASA is offering the pad and facilities to private companies to fly missions for the commercial space market.
First Launch: 18 May 1969
Last Launch: 28 October 2009
Saturn V: 1 Launch
Saturn IB: 4 Launches
Space Shuttle: 53 Launches
Ares I-X: 1 Launch
www.teslarati.com/nasa-sls-moon-rocket-artemis-1-first-...
Its first mission in the Shuttle era was that for the January 1986 flight STS-51-L, in which the Challenger orbiter was destroyed 73 seconds into the flight due to a failure in a Solid Rocket Booster O-ring seal. Last used in December 2006 for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station, LC-39B was deactivated on January 1, 2007 and conversion was begun by NASA to support the launch of the Ares I "Stick" rocket and its Orion spacecraft payload. While conversion was underway, LC-39B hosted its final Space Shuttle during the STS-125 mission when Shuttle Endeavour was placed on LC-39B in the event NASA needed to launch the STS-400 rescue mission.
Following STS-125, contractors completed their conversion of LC-39B for the test flight of Ares I-X, which was successfully completed on October 28, 2009. Operating in a "clean pad" approach similar to that of the Apollo Program, LC-39B saw its FSS structure demolished and much of its Shuttle-era infrastructure removed, with the exception of the LH2, LOX, and water tanks (used for the sound suppression system) remaining.
As of February 2011, NASA is offering the pad and facilities to private companies to fly missions for the commercial space market.
First Launch: 18 May 1969
Last Launch: 28 October 2009
Saturn V: 1 Launch
Saturn IB: 4 Launches
Space Shuttle: 53 Launches
Ares I-X: 1 Launch
www.teslarati.com/nasa-sls-moon-rocket-artemis-1-first-...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 28°37'37"N 80°37'15"W
- Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 3.6 km
- Former Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) 8.9 km
- Kennedy Space Center 16 km
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 884 km
- Redstone Arsenal 890 km
- John C. Stennis Space Center 897 km
- NASA Langley Research Center 1023 km
- NASA Wallops Flight Facility - Main Base 1142 km
- Apollo 9 Splashdown Site - 13/3/1969 1398 km
- NASA Plum Brook Station 1434 km
- Playalinda Beach 6.2 km
- Indian River(Intracoastal Waterway) NASA Causeway to A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway 15 km
- Indian River(Intracoastal Waterway) A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway to Government Railroad 18 km
- Overwash/tidal flood deposits 20 km
- Indian River (Intracoastal Waterway) Government Railroad to Haulover Canal 20 km
- Mosquito Lagoon 20 km
- Mims, Florida 22 km
- Canaveral National Seashore 25 km
- Brevard County, Florida 37 km
- Volusia County, Florida 72 km
Playalinda Beach
Indian River(Intracoastal Waterway) NASA Causeway to A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway
Indian River(Intracoastal Waterway) A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway to Government Railroad
Overwash/tidal flood deposits
Indian River (Intracoastal Waterway) Government Railroad to Haulover Canal
Mosquito Lagoon
Mims, Florida
Canaveral National Seashore
Brevard County, Florida
Volusia County, Florida
Comments