Launch

Support
Facilities

Original Concept for a Spaceport to the Moon and Beyond

When the Apollo program was created, in response to President Kennedy's challenge to reach the Moon by 1970, it quickly became apparent that the existing launch facilities at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) were not up to the task. The usual practice of assembling the launch vehicle at the launch pad had many disadvantages:

  1. •Lack of flexibility; pads and support structures were too specialized

  2. •Low flight frequency; assembling the vehicle at the pad meant that no more than four launches could happen per year

  3. •Launch pad and facilities could be significantly tied up if there was a problem (e.g., explosion at the pad or difficulties with the vehicle)

  4. •Exposure to the elements during assembly and the need to dismantle the vehicle in case of severe weather (hurricanes)

  5. •Complexity

Mobile LaunchersMobile_Launchers.htmlMobile_Launchers.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0
Launch PadsLaunch_Pads.htmlLaunch_Pads.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0
Launch Control CenterLaunch_Control_Center.htmlLaunch_Control_Center.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0

Click images to view Apollo Facilities

Vehicle Assembly BuildingVehicle_Assembly_Building.htmlVehicle_Assembly_Building.htmlVehicle_Assembly_Building.htmlshapeimage_9_link_0shapeimage_9_link_1

Kurt Debus, Director of the Kennedy Space Center, put forward innovative ideas that would address these concerns. These included:

  1. •A simplified pad structure

  2. •Assembly, testing, and checkout of multiple vehicles simultaneously in an enclosed, weatherproof building

  3. •Launch vehicle transported to the pad fully assembled and almost ready to fly, requiring minimum exposure on the pad

  4. •Movable launch towers that were brought out to the pad with the launch vehicle

  5. •A central Launch Control Center that could support multiple vehicles from testing through launch


Debus' ideas were eventually distilled into four fundamental considerations in the design of the launch facilities for Apollo:

  1. 1.Only activities that were essential to the checkout, mating, testing, erection, and launch of the vehicle would be performed at the launch complex.

  2. 2.All other supporting activities, including those for testing the Apollo spacecraft prior to stacking, would be performed in an area away from the launch complex.

  3. 3.Ocean access via channels and canals was required for transporting the enormous stages of the Saturn V launch vehicle to the assembly building by barge.

  4. 4.A large portion of the land of the Space Center would be reserved for future NASA and DoD launch facilities.


Debus' sketches of his new concepts for operation are shown below. They were the genesis for the creation of Launch Complex 39, which launched  America's Apollo flights to the Moon, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle.


Assembly and Control Center

Debus envisioned an assembly and checkout building with multiple bays in which four vehicles could be built and tested at the same time. This needed to be out of the "Danger Zone" (the blast radius if a vehicle exploded on the pad). Each launch vehicle would have a dedicated Launch Control room, which was  connected to the vehicle during assembly and test, and connected to the vehicle on the pad. 

At currently-existing launch pads, the Blockhouse containing the control center was adjacent to the pad. Building a strong enough blockhouse to withstand the nearby blast of a mammoth rocket like the Saturn V was not feasible. This posed a particular challenge. Cable runs alone could not carry the signals over the 3.5 miles necessary to place the Launch Control Center outside of the Danger Zone. Computers (still in their infancy at the time) were therefore required to process and transmit the control signals to the pad and receive the instrument readings from the vehicle. 



Transporter

Debus initially recommended that the launch vehicle be assembled on its side, atop a transport vehicle that would carry it and the launch tower from the assembly and checkout building to the pad. Once at the pad, the vehicle and launch tower would be jacked to a vertical position.

Subsequent design work demonstrated that it was preferable to erect the vehicle vertically. Although it required a much taller assembly building, it reduced complexity and stress on the vehicle.



Launch Pad

Debus wanted the vehicle to be at the launch pad for as little time as possible - preferably no more than a week. To reduce the impacts of the Cape's winds on the launch vehicle, he proposed that the flame trench and flame deflector be underground, so that the vehicle would sit as close to the ground as possible. The high water table at KSC proved this idea impractical. The launch pads were eventually built as solid concrete structures 48 feet high, with a flame trench bisecting the length of the pad and flame deflector that could be moved into place. 

Debus also suggested an "inflatable bag type shelter" to protect the vehicle from rain. Although it was common practice in the early to mid 1960s to put protective wrapping over the launch vehicle at the pads, the expanded concept of an inflatable shelter was never built.

Launch Complex 39 was initially planned with four launch pads, plus another possible one at the north end of the Cape for nuclear-powered vehicles. Ultimately, only two launch pads were built, 39A and 39B.

 
Mobile Service StructureMobile_Service_Structure.htmlMobile_Service_Structure.htmlMobile_Service_Structure.htmlshapeimage_12_link_0shapeimage_12_link_1
Other KSC FacilitiesOther_KSC_Facilities.htmlOther_KSC_Facilities.htmlshapeimage_13_link_0
Crawler/TransporterCrawler_Transporter.htmlCrawler_Transporter.htmlshapeimage_15_link_0