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

NAME(S): Orbiter Processing Historic District
FACILITY NO(S): K6-894 (Orbiter Processing Facility [OPF]); K6-696 (Orbiter Processing
Facility High Bay 3 [OPF-3]); and K6-794 (Thermal Protection System Facility [TPSF])
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE NO: 8BR1990
LOCATION: The historic district contains three assets located within the KSC VAB Area.
PROPERTY TYPE: Vehicle Processing Facilities; Manufacturing and Assembly Facilities
DATE(S): 1977-1988
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Various (See Facility Data Sheets for the OPF, OPF-3, and TPSF)
USE (ORIGINAL/CURRENT): The resources within the historic district were originally built
to support Space Shuttle Program operations. They continue to function in the same capacity
today.
HISTORICAL DATA: The three individually eligible and contributing resources within the
historic district were constructed between 1977 and 1988 to support the Space Shuttle Program.
In 1977, the OPF was designed and built exclusively to prepare the orbiter for flight. Operations
performed within the OPF include draining and purging the fuel systems, removing ordnance,
repairing/replacing damaged components, inspecting/refurbishing the Thermal Protection System,
inspecting/testing orbiter systems and installing/removing payloads. The OPF was built by the
Frank Briscoe Company, Inc. under successive contracts totaling more than $12.6 million. The
Phase 1 contract was dated July 1975; Phase 2 covered the period between June 1976 and August
1977. In May 1977, a $3.1 million was awarded to the Beckman Construction Company of Fort
Worth, Texas for fabrication and installation of the main access platform, piping and cabling in
one of the high bays, plus construction of a two-story 10,000 ft 2 service and support annex. Large
areas of High Bay 2 were turned into a tile densification processing facility in February 1980,
preparing tiles for the Orbiter Columbia. In January 1981, Briscoe was awarded a $3.9 million
contract to modify High Bay 2.
In 1987, OPF High Bay 3 (OPF-3) was built to house a third orbiter. The OPF-3 originally served
as the Orbiter Modification and Refurbishment Facility (OMRF). Constructed in 1986-1987 by
the W&J Construction Company of Cocoa, the facility was used to perform extensive, nonhazardous
modification, rehabilitation and overhaul of the orbiter fleet. In 1989, work began to
convert the OMRF to an OPF at a cost of $85 million. Shuttle-unique work platforms from the
former Vandenberg Launch Site in California were cut into pieces, shipped to KSC, and
reconstructed in the new OPF, completed in 1991. Lockheed was responsible for relocating and
installing the high bay platforms and GSE from Vandenberg. The third OPF served to expand
KSC’s capabilities for pre-flight and post-landing orbiter processing. Compared with the original
OPF, OPF-3 was designed for easier flow of GSE in the high bay. Major improvements included
a new built-in computerized cooling system and new hydraulic pumps located inside a support
building instead of outside in the weather. The OPF-3 high bay is dedicated to the Orbiter
Discovery, which was first processed here in 1991 in support of mission number STS-48.
In 1996, Ivey Construction Company of Merritt Island was awarded a $5.3 million contract to
build the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility (SSMEPF), an addition to the OPF-3.
Ground was broken on November 20, 1996 for this new facility which served to increase the