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

• Azimuth Alignment Station (J7-537; 1967)
• Camera Pad B #4 (J7-584; 1968)
• Camera Pad B #3 (J7-589; 1968)
Contributing Structures: Of the 14 contributing structures, 5 are camera pads and 5 are fuel
facilities; the remaining 4 are the Launch Pad (also considered individually eligible), the Flare
Stack, the Water Tower, and the Slidewire Termination Facility.
Launch Pad 39B: LP 39B is comprised of four main features: the hardstand, the Flame Trench
and Deflector system, the Fixed Service Structure (FSS), and the Rotating Service Structure
(RSS), which includes the Payload Changeout Room (PCR). The surface of the LP 39A
hardstand sits at 48 ft above sea level. Built within the hardstand are various subsurface areas,
including catacombs, the High Pressure Gas storage area, an environmental control systems
(ECS) area, a pad terminal control room (PTCR), and a blast room. On the surface of the
hardstand are six mount mechanisms to support the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP), and rail
tracks for the solid rocket booster (SRB) side flame deflectors, as well as for the RSS. The Flame
Trench sits just east of the center of the hardstand, extending north to south. The trench is
constructed of concrete and refractory brick, and at the north end, where the flat surface of the
hardstand terminates, the trench walls angle towards the west and east. The Deflector system
contains two main elements: an inverted V-shaped steel structure that sits within the trench and
directs the flames from both the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and the Space Shuttle Main Engines
(SSMEs), and the aforementioned pair of moveable deflectors that sit on the surface of the
hardstand and help direct the flames from the SRBs.
The FSS, formerly part of the Apollo-era Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT), measures
approximately 40 ft in both length and width, and 347 ft in height, including the hammerhead
crane and the lighting mast. The FSS has eleven platform levels that are accessed by either a set
of metal stairs or one of two elevators. The first platform level is at 75 ft above sea level, and the
remaining ten levels continue at 20-ft intervals. Access is provided to the MLP at the 95-ft level;
access to the PCR main floor is at the 135-ft level. The 155-ft level has a platform to the orbiter
midbody umbilical unit, and at the 195-ft level is the orbiter emergency egress arm, which leads
to the orbiter crew compartment. The external tank (ET) gaseous hydrogen vent arm, which
allows access to the ET’s intertank compartment, as well as aiding in the mating of ET umbilicals
to the vent lines, sits at the 215-ft level. At the 275-ft level is the ET gaseous oxygen vent arm
and “beanie cap,” used to heat the liquid oxygen (LOX) vent system at the top of the ET to
prevent ice formation. Around 2 minutes, 30 seconds before launch, the “beanie cap” is raised,
and 45 seconds later, the arm is retracted. At roughly 21 ft due south from the southeast corner of
the FSS sits the hinge column for the RSS, which is supported by a triangular-footprint trussing
system off of the south elevation of the FSS.
The RSS contains the PCR, which has dimensions of 50 ft in length and width, and 130 ft in
height, and contains five platform levels. The PCR functions as an airlock by maintaining the
controlled environment required when payloads are inserted into or removed from the Orbiter.
Within the PCR is the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM), which is used to transfer
the payload from the Payload Canister to the orbiter. Below the PCR, within the RSS, is an
Auxiliary Power Subsystem (APS) access platform (at 107 ft) and an Auxiliary Power Unit
(APU) access platform (at 120 ft). The RSS also contains the orbiter midbody umbilical unit,
which allows access to the midfuselage area of the orbiter, and the hypergolic umbilical system,
which carries fuel, oxidizer, helium, and nitrogen lines from the FSS to the orbiter maneuvering
system (OMS) pods. At the outer end of the RSS, opposite the column hinge, are two rotary