john f. kennedy space center brevard county, florida - Environmental ...

Space Shuttle Program Historic Properties 6-42
NASA Kennedy Space Center
The Parachute Refurbishment Facility is a one-story concrete block building with a
poured concrete slab foundation and a flat metal roof. The interior is arranged so that
there is a central office bay flanked by work areas. The west work area has an open
layout with sewing machines and tensile testing equipment placed throughout. The east
work area contains three aisles, each dominated by a long work table. The inner aisle is
used for inspection and refurbishment, while the outer two aisles are used for packing.
The washing and drying equipment is separated from the building, and sits just to the
north of the facility under a canopy. A monorail system runs throughout the building to
aid in moving the parachutes, which can weigh up to 2100 lbs.
The Parachute Refurbishment Facility, classified within the Manufacturing and Assembly
Facilities property type, is considered eligible for listing in the NRHP in the context of
the U.S. Space Shuttle Program (1969-2010) under NRHP Criterion A in the area of
Space Exploration. Because it has achieved exceptional significance within the past 50
years, Criteria Consideration G applies. As a NASA manufacturing and assembly facility,
the Parachute Refurbishment Facility fabricates and repairs a variety of parachute types,
and keeps the parachute flight sets in excellent working condition. It is also significant to
space flight recovery. The main, drogue and pilot parachutes are essential components of
the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters. Deployed sequentially, the parachutes slow the
fall of the SRBs, thus facilitating recovery efforts and subsequent reuse. The facility is in
excellent condition and maintains its integrity of location, design, setting, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and association.
6.2.22 Canister Rotation Facility (CRF) (8BR2016)
The CRF, also known as the Transporter/Canister Facility, is located in the Industrial
Area of KSC. It was designed between 1991 and 1992 by Stottler Stagg and Associates,
and constructed in 1993 by Ivey’s Construction, Inc. of Merritt Island. The CRF was
specifically designed to accommodate payload canister rotation, a process that originally
was performed in the VAB. Mission-ready payloads within the canister arrive at the CRF
in a horizontal position. The canister is separated from the transporter, rotated vertically,
set back on the transporter, bolted down, and subsequently taken to the PCR at the launch
pad. After delivery of the vertical payload to the pad, the empty payload canister is
returned to the CRF and rotated back to the horizontal position. The interior of the
canister is cleaned, and the instrumentation systems are checked. The payload canister is
then ready for transport to a payload processing facility to be configured for the next
mission.
The 25,121 ft 2 CRF is comprised of a high bay, an administrative office, and a low bay
for Multi-use Mission Support Equipment (MMSE). The 7,200 ft 2 , 142 ft tall high bay is
a 300,000 class clean room with a temperature and humidity range of 71+/-6 degrees and
a maximum relative humidity of 55 degrees. It contains a 100-ton bridge crane used to
hoist and rotate the payload canister to either horizontal or vertical position, a 10-ton
auxiliary crane, as well as four stanchions or upright supports used to demate the payload
canister from the transporter.
October 2007
Archaeological Consultants, Inc.