Kennedy Space Center

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Aerial view of KSC Headquarters looking south
Agency overview
Formed	July 1962
Preceding agency	Launch Operations Center
Jurisdiction	U.S. federal government
Headquarters	Merritt Island, Florida 28°31′26.608″N 80°39′3.055″W / 28.52405778°N 80.65084861°W / 28.52405778; -80.65084861
Employees	13,500 (2008)
Annual budget	$217 million USD (2008)
Agency executive	Robert D. Cabana, director
Parent agency	NASA
Website
KSC home page
Map
KSC shown in white; CCAFS in green

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the U.S. government installation that manages and operates America's manned space launch facilities. Currently serving as the base for the country's three space shuttles, the NASA field center also conducts unmanned launches from adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, operated by the 45th Space Wing. It has been the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since 1968.

Located on Merritt Island, Florida, KSC is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly 6 miles (10 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km²). A total of 13,500 people worked at the center as of 2008.^[1]

STS-60 shuttle launch from LC-39 Pad A, February 3, 1994

Shuttle launch operations are carried out at Launch Complex 39, where the shuttle's major components (orbiter, external fuel tank and booster rockets) arrive, are stacked (mated) and checked out inside the Vehicle Assembly Building; then moved to Pad 39A for launch. Shuttles were also launched from adjoining Pad 39B until 2007, when it was modified for the Ares I program. Both pads are on the Atlantic Ocean, 3 miles (5 km) east of the VAB. LC-39 also includes the Launch Control Center, the Orbiter Processing Facility, and a Press Site. From 1969–1972, LC-39 was the departure point for all six Apollo manned moon landing missions using the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle in history.

The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, and the administrative Headquarters Building, are 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. KSC is also home to the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station, or MILA, a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex; and the Shuttle Landing Facility.

There is a visitor center and public tours, as KSC is a major tourist destination. Because much of the installation is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land is developed, the site also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary; Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore are also features of this area. Center workers can encounter bald eagles, alligators, wild boars, rattlesnakes and manatees. KSC is one of ten major NASA field centers.

History

Kennedy Space Center was created and evolved to meet the needs of America's manned space program in competiton with the Soviet Union. What is today KSC was authorized in 1958 during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1960s

President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a lunar landing within nine years led to an expansion of NASA operations to Merritt Island from a few buildings the Cape. NASA began land acquisition in 1962, taking title to 131 square miles (340 km²) by outright purchase and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km²).^[2] The original buildings were designed by Charles Luckman.^[3]

In July 1962, the site was named the Launch Operations Center; and in 1963, the facility received its current name following Kennedy's assassination. Cape Canaveral was also renamed Cape Kennedy, but the change was unpopular with local residents and the cape reverted to its original name by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1973.

Mercury

The U.S. lunar landing goal was accomplished in three stages—Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. The objectives of the Mercury program were to place a manned spacecraft in orbit around the earth, investigate human performance capabilities and the ability to function in the environment of space, and safely recover the astronaut and spacecraft. The first two manned tests used the Redstone from LC-5 for the suborbital flights of Alan Shepard on May 5 and Virgil Grissom on July 21, 1961. The first American in orbit, and the first carried by the larger Atlas, was John Glenn, launched February 20, 1962 from LC-14. Three more orbital flights followed. Although Mercury was conducted by NASA, launches were from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, as KSC was still under construction.

Gemini

From the knowledge gained through Mercury, the more complex two-man capsules of Gemini were prepared, as was a new launcher, the Titan II based on the military ICBM. The first manned flight, Gemini 3, took place on March 23, 1965 from LC-19. A total of twelve Gemini missions were launched from Pad 19, the last ten of which were manned. The final flight, Gemini 12, was launched on November 11, 1966.

Apollo

The Apollo program required new launchers—the Saturn family of boosters. Erected and launched from Complex 34 and Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral, Saturn I and 1B (originally known as an Uprated Saturn), tested the men and equipment. The deaths of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee by fire on Apollo-Saturn 204 (later designated Apollo 1) on January 27, 1967 occurred at Complex 34 atop a Saturn 1B.

The VAB (center) with the Launch Control Center jutting out from its right and Pads A and B in the distance

A Saturn V carrying Apollo 15 rolls out to Pad A in 1971 on a Mobile Launch Platform.

Missions to the moon required the three-stage Saturn V (111 m high and 10 m in diameter), built by Boeing (first stage), North American Aviation (engines and second stage) and Douglas Aircraft (third stage). North American Aviation also made the command and service modules while Grumman constructed the lunar lander. IBM, MIT and GE provided instrumentation.

At KSC, an $800 million facility was built to accommodate this new rocket—Launch Complex 39. It included a hangar to hold four Saturn V rockets, the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB, 130 million ft³); a transportation system from the hangar along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads, capable of carrying 5,440 tons; a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure; and a control center. Construction began in November 1962. Pads A and B were completed by October 1965, the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966. From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches from LC-39. A planned Pad C was canceled.

The first Saturn V test launch, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) began its 104 hour countdown on October 30, 1967 and, after delays, was launched on November 9. Apollo 7 was the first manned test on October 11, 1968 (on a Saturn IB). Apollo 8, the first manned Saturn V launch, made 10 lunar orbits on December 24-25, 1968. Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 tested the lunar lander. Apollo 11 was launched July 16, 1969, and two of its crew made the first Moon landing on July 20. On November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 was struck by lightning just after lift-off from Pad A, but the fight continued safely.

1970s

At KSC, the Apollo program concluded with missions 13–17 from 1970–1972. In 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit. Pad 39B was slightly modified for Saturn IB use to launch three manned missions to Skylab in 1973, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

NASA launches at Cape Canaveral AFS

The Air Force chose to expand the capabilities of its Titan III launch vehicles, and constructed Launch Complexes 40 and 41 to launch Titan III and Titan IV rockets at Cape Canaveral AFS. A Titan III has about the same payload capacity as a Saturn IB with a considerable cost saving. NASA used Launch Complexes 40 and 41 to launch communications and weather satellites and planetary missions.

Expendable launch system rocket development also continued—an Atlas-Centaur launched from Launch Complex 36 placed the first American Surveyor lander softly on the Moon on May 30, 1966. A further five out of seven Surveyor craft also successfully landed. From 1974–1977 the powerful Titan-Centaur became the new heavy-lift vehicle for NASA, launching the Viking and Voyager series of planetary spacecraft from LC-41.

1980s

Space Shuttle

Shuttle Atlantis is moved to Pad A for the 1990 launch of STS-36

KSC became the launch site for the Space Shuttle after modifications to the Complex 39 Apollo infrastructure. The first launch was of Columbia on April 12, 1981. KSC also has a landing site for the orbiter, the 2.9 mile (4.6 km) Shuttle Landing Facility. However, the first end-of-mission Shuttle landing at KSC did not take place until February 11, 1984, when Challenger completed STS-41-B; the primary landing site had until that time been Edwards Air Force Base in California. Twenty-five flights had been completed by September 1988, with a long hiatus from January 28, 1986, to September 29, 1988, following the Challenger disaster (which was the first shuttle launch from Pad 39B).

The designations for KSC shuttle flights after Challenger were STS-26R through STS-33R.^[4] Mission numbers at Kennedy Space Center were sometimes different than at Johnson Space Center. Challenger, known as 51-L at JSC was known as STS-33 at KSC, hence STS-26R through STS-33R.

2000s

In September 2004, areas of KSC were damaged by Hurricane Frances. The Vehicle Assembly Building lost 1,000 exterior panels, each 3.9 x 9.8 ft (approx. 1.2 x 3.0 m) in size. This exposed 39,800 sq ft (3,700 m²) of the building to the elements. Damage occurred to the south and east sides of the VAB. The space shuttle tile manufacturing facility suffered extensive damage. The roof was partially torn off and the interior suffered extensive water damage. Further damage to KSC was caused by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.

The central Florida area receives more lightning strikes than any other place in the U.S.,^[5] causing NASA to spend millions of dollars to avoid strikes during launch.^[6] The most powerful lightning strike on a launch pad happened in 2006, during Hurricane Ernesto. This happened while shuttle Atlantis was on Pad B for mission STS-115. NASA managers were initially concerned that the lightning strike may have caused damage to Atlantis, but none was found.

2010s

The planned end of the space shuttle program in 2010 is expected to produce a significant down-sizing of the KSC workforce similar to that experienced at the end of the Apollo program in 1972. KSC would be the launch site for the Ares I and Ares V rockets, which would carry the Orion spacecraft if NASA's Constellation program is carried out; although funding is uncertain.

KSC directors

Since KSC's formation, ten NASA officials have served as directors, including three former astronauts:

Visitor Complex

Gate to the KSC Visitor Complex, July 2006; Explorer, a mock-up of the Space Shuttle, is in the background.

The Rocket Garden (open to visitors) at the KSC Visitor Complex, December 2004

The Space Mirror in March 2006

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North Companies, is home to a number of museums, a simulation ride into space, two IMAX theatres, and a range of bus tours allowing visitors a closer look at various restricted areas that would otherwise not be possible. Base admission for people over age 12 is $38. Included in the base admission is tour-bus transportation into the restricted area to an observation gantry on the grounds of Launch Complex 39, and to the Apollo-Saturn V Center. The observation gantry provides unobstructed views of both launch pads and all of Kennedy Space Center property.

The Apollo-Saturn V Center, located several miles to the north, is a large museum built around its centerpiece exhibit, a restored Saturn V launch vehicle, and features other space related exhibits, including an Apollo capsule. Two theaters allow the visitor to relive parts of the Apollo program. One simulates the environment inside an Apollo-era firing room during an Apollo launch, and another simulates the Apollo 11 landing. The tour also includes a visit to a building where modules for the International Space Station are tested.

The Visitor Complex also includes two facilities run by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. The most visible of these is the Space Mirror Memorial, also known as the Astronaut Memorial, a huge black granite mirror through-engraved with the names of all astronauts who died in the line of duty. These names are constantly illuminated from behind, with natural light when possible, and artificial light when necessary. The glowing names seem to float in a reflection of the sky. Supplemental displays nearby give the details of the lives and deaths of the astronauts memorialized. Elsewhere on the Visitor Complex grounds is the Foundation's Center for Space Education, which includes a resource center for teachers, among other facilities; and the Dr. Kurt Debus Conference Center.

Several flight-used and flight-ready spacecraft are on display at KSC:

• Gemini 9A capsule, at the Visitor Complex
• CM-119, an Apollo command module configured for a possible Skylab rescue mission, at the Visitor Complex
• LM-9, an Apollo Lunar Module originally meant for Apollo 15, at the Saturn V Center
• 500F, the restored Saturn V test article displayed for many years near the VAB, at the Saturn V Center

Mercury-Atlas 8 capsule Sigma 7 and Apollo 14 Command Module Kitty Hawk are located at the nearby, privately-operated Astronaut Hall of Fame.

KSC facilities on the National Register of Historic Places

• Central Instrumentation Facility
• Crawlerway
• Headquarters Building
• Launch Complex 39
• Launch Complex 39–Pad A
• Launch Complex 39–Pad B
• Launch Control Center
• Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities
• Operations and Checkout Building
• Press Site–Clock and Flag Pole
• Vehicle Assembly Building–High Bay and Low Bay

See also

• List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
• List of space shuttle missions
• NASA Causeway
• NASA Railroad

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kennedy Space Center

• Kennedy Space Center Home Page
• Visitor Complex Home Page
• CCAFS Space and Missile Museum
• Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce Home Page
• streaming audio of KSC radio communications
• Astronauts Memorial Foundation Home Page
• John F. Kennedy Space Center from Encyclopedia Astronautica
• Cape Canaveral travel guide from Wikitravel
• "America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
• Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Coordinates: 28°35′06″N 80°39′04″W / 28.585°N 80.651°W / 28.585; -80.651

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