KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Launch Philosophy

Saturn V vehicles are assembled, checked out, and launched at Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center. Complex 39 embodies a new mobile concept of launch operations which includes superior re­liability and time savings offered by assembly and checkout in a protected environment and reduc­tion of actual pad time as much as 80 per cent with

a consequent increase in launch rate capability. The ability to adapt economically to future program requirements is another advantage. For example, the service platforms used in the Saturn/Apollo program could be used for other vehicles of similar configuration, and the area can accommodate space boosters with thrusts up to 40 million pounds.

Facilities

The major components of Launch Complex 39 in­clude: (1) the Vehicle Assembly Building, where the space vehicle is assembled and prepared; (2) the mobile launcher, upon which the vehicle is erected for checkout, and from which, later, it is launched; (3) the crawlerway, upon which the fully assembled vehicle is carried by transporter to the launch site; (4) the mobile service structure, which provides external access to the vehicle at the launch site; (5) the transporter which carries the launch vehicle, mobile launcher, and mobile service struc­ture to various positions at the launch complex; and (6) the launch area from which the space vehicle is launched.

THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) consists of a high bay area 525 feet tall, a low bay area 210 feet tall, and a four-story launch control center iLCC) connected to the high bay by an enclosed bridge. The VAB, with 130 million cubic feet, is the world’s largest building in volume. It covers eight acres of land. There are four assembly and checkout bays in the high bay area. The low bay area contains eight stage preparation and checkout cells equipped with systems to simulate stage inter­face. The launch control center houses display, monitoring, and control equipment for checkout and launch operations. There are four firing rooms in the LCC, one for each high bay and checkout area. Work platforms, mounted on opposite walls in the high bay area, are designed to enclose various work areas around the launch vehicle. Platforms extend or retract in less than 10 minutes. Twenty – ton hydraulic jacks are used to align platforms.

The Saturn V, after prelaunch checkout on its mo­bile launcher, is carried by the transporter from the VAB through a door shaped like an inverted “T”. The door is 456 feet high. The base of the door is 149 feet wide and 113 feet high; the remainder is 76 feet wide. There are four such doors in the VAB, one for each of its four high bays. In keeping with the protective environment of the building, doors were designed to withstand winds of 125 miles per hour.

There are 141 lifting devices in the VAB, ranging from one-ton mechanical hoists to two 250-ton high-

Checkout Vehicle—The Saturn V facilities vehicle begins its journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Its purpose was to check out facilities, train launch crews, and verify procedures at KSC.