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

Space Shuttle Program Historic Properties 6-14
NASA Kennedy Space Center
The Press Site: Clock and Flag Pole, classified by property type as a News Broadcast
Facility, was listed in the NRHP on January 21, 2000. It is considered eligible under
NRHP Criterion A in the areas of Space Exploration and Communications. Because the
resource has achieved exceptional significance within the past 50 years, Criteria
Consideration G applies. The Press Site: Clock and Flag Pole, originally nominated to the
NRHP in the context of the Apollo Program, continues to be important in the context of
the Space Shuttle Program. The clock and flag pole are historically associated with Space
Shuttle launches in the minds of people worldwide, as they framed the vehicle during
television broadcasts of the launch sequence. The site serves as an integral facility in the
dissemination of information to the public about the Space Shuttle missions. It maintains
its integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
6.2.6 Launch Complex (LC) 39: Pad A Historic District (8BR1686)
Photo 6.7. Aerial view of LC39A, 1984.
(Source: NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, KSC-384C-3061 FR08)
The LC 39: Pad A Historic District 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. Beginning in 1976, Pad A underwent major
modifications to accommodate the Space Shuttle vehicle. Key alterations to Pad A
included creation of a FSS from the former Apollo-era LUT, a RSS, a Service Access
Tower, with a PCR and a PGHM, a new flame deflector, and hypergolic fuel and oxidizer
facilities.
On April 14, 1981, Pad A was the launch site for the first launch of the Space Shuttle
Program, STS-1. Between 1981 and 1986, the next 23 launches were from Pad A. In
September 1986, in the aftermath of the Challenger accident, LC 39 Pad A was put into
inactive status for about two years to allow time for modifications. It was reactivated in
1990.
October 2007
Archaeological Consultants, Inc.