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

NAME(S): Launch Complex 39: Pad A
FACILITY NO(S): J8-1708
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE NO: 8BR1995
LOCATION: Launch Complex 39 Area
PROPERTY TYPE: Launch Operation Facilities
DATE(S): 1963-1965 (original construction); ca. 1976-1979 (major modifications for Space
Shuttle Program)
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Designed by Giffels and Rossetti, Inc., Detroit, Michigan; built by
Blount Brothers Construction Co. and M.M. Sundt Construction Co; modifications by Reynolds,
Smith and Hills, Jacksonville, Florida
USE (ORIGINAL/CURRENT): Originally built to support the launch of Saturn vehicles into
space during the Apollo era, Pad A performs the same function for the Space Shuttle vehicle.
HISTORICAL DATA: LP 39A was constructed between November 1963 and October 1965 by
the Blount Brothers Construction Company of Montgomery, Alabama and the M.M. Sundt
Construction Company of Tucson, Arizona based on the designs of Giffels and Rossetti, Inc.,
Detroit. Pad A was the site of the first Saturn V launch, the Apollo 4 mission, on November 9,
1967. Pad A also served the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 when astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin,
and Collins landed on the moon. In total, LP 39A launched 11 Apollo missions and one Skylab
mission, all using the Saturn V rocket.
Beginning in 1976, LP 39A underwent major modifications to accommodate the Space Shuttle
vehicle. Key alterations included the creation of a Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and a Rotating
Service Structure (RSS) with a Payload Changeout Room (PCR) and Payload Ground Handling
Mechanism (PGHM), a new flame deflector, and hypergol fuel and oxidizer facilities.
Alterations and additions were also made to the propellant piping and storage facilities, the
electrical systems, and the operational intercom and television systems. In April 1977, Algernon
Blair Industrial Contractors, Inc. of Norcross, Georgia was awarded a $4.3 million contract for
construction of the sound suppression water system, which included a 300,000-gallon water
storage tank and water lines, SRB side flame deflectors, and electrical controls for the water
deluge system.
On April 14, 1981, LP 39A was the site for the first launch of the Space Shuttle Program, STS-1,
followed by the next 23 launches, including the first American woman, Sally Ride, and the first
African-American, Guion Bluford, in space, through 1985. In September of 1986, in the
aftermath of the Challenger disaster, LP 39A was put into inactive status for about two years to
allow time for modifications. These modifications included new weather protection structures, a
SRB joint heater to keep the field joints at 75 degrees, freeze protection for the water systems,
debris traps, and temperature and humidity control improvements for the PCR.
LP 39A was reactivated in 1989 for the launch of STS-32 in December, which was delayed until
January 1990. Over the next 13 years, it launched 39 additional Space Shuttle missions,
including the final flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia in January 2003. Later in 2003, a new