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

NAME(S): Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
FACILITY NO.: K6-848
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE NO.: 8BR1684
LOCATION: KSC Launch Complex (39) Area
PROPERTY TYPE: Vehicle Processing Facility
DATE(S): 1962-1966; 1976 modified for Space Shuttle Program
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Design by URSAM (Max Urbahn [architectural]; Roberts and
Schaefer [structural]; Seelye, Stevenson, Value and Knecht [civil, mechanical and electrical]; and
Moran, Proctor, Mueser and Rutledge [foundations], New York. The foundation and flooring
were built by the Blount Brothers Corp., Birmingham, Alabama; steel framework by American
Bridge Division of U.S. Steel, Atlanta; and building construction by the firms of Morrison-
Knudsen Co., Inc., Perini Corp., and Paul Hardeman, Inc. Major modifications by Frank Briscoe
Company, Inc., East Orange, New Jersey.
USE (ORIGINAL/CURRENT): Originally supported the assembly, test, and check-out for
Apollo-era launch vehicles and spacecraft. Currently, the VAB supports similar functions for the
Space Shuttle launch vehicle.
HISTORICAL DATA: The VAB was originally built to support the vertical assembly of the
Saturn launch vehicles used for the Apollo, Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz programs. It was
designed by a combination of four New York architectural and engineering firms, organized in
1962 as URSAM, after the first letter in each company’s name. On July 11, 1963, an $8 million
contract was awarded to the Blount Brothers Construction Corporation to provide the foundations
and flooring, which was completed in May 1964. Subsequently, the American Bridge Division of
U.S. Steel received $23.5 million for 45,000 metric tons of structural steel, and the erection of the
skeletal framework. In January 1964, a contract was awarded to three California firms, Morrison-
Knudsen Co., Inc., Perini Corp., and Paul Hardeman, Inc. for construction of the building proper.
The VAB was structurally completed in June 1965. Interior work, including the construction of
work platforms, was started in 1966. The initial construction cost was $117,000,000.
Beginning in 1976, the VAB was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle Program. On
September 10, 1976, a $2.5 million contract was awarded to the Frank Briscoe Company, Inc. of
East Orange, New Jersey for construction of an ET Processing Support System in High Bay 4 and
a SRB Processing Storage Facility in High Bays 2 and 4. In 1977, Briscoe received additional
contracts for construction and modification in High Bay 3, including installation of piping
systems for air and gases; cable trays for electrical, operational communication systems and
instrumentation lines; plus electrical and operational communication system cables. Briscoe also
added workstands on the extensible platforms originally used during the Apollo era. The access
platforms were reshaped and relocated to fit the Space Shuttle configuration under another
contract. Also in 1977, Briscoe was awarded a $5.7 million contract to reconfigure work
platforms in High Bay 1, to install ET checkout cells in High Bay 2, and to modify the Low Bay
cells. On January 10, 1977, a $1.3 million contract was awarded to Holloway Corporation of
Titusville for construction of a SRB Refurbishment Facility in the VAB. The contract called for
modification of existing facilities in the Low Bay area to serve as shops and work areas related to