Since KSC’s formation, ten NASA officials have served as directors, including three former astronauts (Crippen, Bridges and Cabana):

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Kennedy Space Center, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Musk statement

Prior to the speech, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk released a statement praising the proposal and criticizing Senators who had opposed it and former NASA administrator Michael Griffin:

Aldrin statement

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin released a statement in support of the plan via the White House on February 1, prior to the announcement on the 2011 federal budget, which included the changes Obama announced in the speech:

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Barack Obama space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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During early shuttle development there was great debate about the optimal shuttle design that best balanced capability, development cost and operating cost. Ultimately the current design was chosen, using a reusable winged orbiter, reusable solid rocket boosters, and an expendable external tank.

The shuttle program was formally launched on January 5, 1972, when President Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable space shuttle system. The final design was less costly to build and less technically ambitious than earlier fully reusable designs. The initial design parameters included a larger external fuel tank, which would have been carried to orbit, where it could be used as a section of a space station, but this idea was killed due to budgetary and political considerations.

The prime contractor for the program was North American Aviation (later Rockwell International, now Boeing), the same company responsible for building the Apollo Command/Service Module. The contractor for the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters was Morton Thiokol (now part of Alliant Techsystems), for the external tank, Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), and for the Space shuttle main engines, Rocketdyne (now Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, part of United Technologies).

The first complete orbiter was originally planned to be named ”Constitution”, but a massive write-in campaign from fans of the ”Star Trek” television series convinced the White House to change the name to ”Enterprise”. Amid great fanfare, the ”Enterprise”

The first fully functional orbiter was the ”Columbia” (designated OV-102), built in Palmdale, California. It was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight—with a crew of two. ”Challenger” (OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982, ”Discovery” (OV-103) in November 1983, and ”Atlantis” (OV-104) in April 1985. ”Challenger” was originally built and used as a Structural Test Article (STA-099) but was converted to a complete shuttle when this was found to be less expensive than converting ”Enterprise” from its Approach and Landing Test configuration, according to NASA. ”Challenger” was destroyed during ascent due to O-Ring failure on the right solid rocket booster (SRB) on January 28, 1986, with the loss of all seven astronauts on board. ”Endeavour” (OV-105) was built to replace ”Challenger” (using structural spare parts originally intended for the other orbiters) and delivered in May 1991; it was first launched a year later. Seventeen years after ”Challenger”, ”Columbia” broke up on reentry, killing all seven crew members, on February 1, 2003, and it has not been replaced. Out of the five fully functional shuttle orbiters built, three remain. ”Enterprise”, which was used for sub-orbital test flights but not intended for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on the other orbiters. It was later visually restored and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. (NASA also maintains warehoused extensive catalogs of recovered pieces from the two destroyed orbiters.)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Space Shuttle program, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article NASA Causeway, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Space Shuttle ”Atlantis” (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States (the other two surviving Space Shuttles are the ”Discovery” and the ”Endeavour”). The ”Atlantis” was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California, and she was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the only orbiter which lacks the ability to draw power from the International Space Station while docked there, it must continue to provide its own power through fuel cells.

In early 2008, the NASA Administrator, with the approval of the President and the United States Congress, decided to continue with the ”Atlantis” making space flights until sometime in 2010, the tentatively predetermined end of the Space Shuttle’s spaceflight program. This reversed a previous decision to retire ”Atlantis” in 2008.

The final reading on Atlantis’ “odometer” after its 32nd flight (STS-132) is approximately the same distance as 505 flights from the Earth to the Moon and back.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Space Shuttle Atlantis, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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With the planned retirement of the Shuttle in 2010, NASA will modify the two launch pads to accommodate the manned Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle and the unmanned Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle in support of Project Constellation. Prior to the announcement that the two launchers would use LC-39, officials in Florida were concerned by the possibility that the Space Shuttle’s successor project may not have launched from Kennedy Space Center. LC-39B will become the primary launchpad for the Ares I, while LC-39A, still currently in use by the Shuttle, will become the primary facility for the Ares V.

LC-39B

NASA deactivated LC-39B on January 1, 2007, thus making the nighttime launch of STS-116, which occurred on December 9, 2006 the last regularly scheduled mission.

NASA is currently in the process of converting LC-39B for its new Ares I role. Between the STS-116 launch and the STS-125 mission, when the ”Endeavour” was placed on LC-39B in the event NASA needed to launch the STS-400 rescue mission, contractors installed three new 600& ft. tall lightning mast towers similar to those used on the Atlas V and Delta IV launch pads at nearby Cape Canaveral. At the same time they removed the existing single lightning mast and crane assembly. (The crane assembly dated back to the Apollo Program.) With the completion of STS-125 contractors converted LC-39B for the successful test flight of Ares I-X on October 28, 2009.

After the Ares I-X flight, NASA plans to strip LC-39B of its FSS, returning to an Apollo-like “clean pad” design for the first time s

LC-39A

Just like the first 24 shuttle flights, LC-39A will support the remaining manifested Shuttle flights, starting with STS-117 until the retirement of the fleet in 2011, after which it will undergo its conversion for operations in support of the Ares V.

Like LC-39B, LC-39A will have both the FSS and RSS removed, and lightning masts identical in height installed. While LC-39B will retain its Shuttle-era storage tanks, LC-39A, as the primary launch facility for the Ares V, will need additional storage capacity in order to accommodate its core stage (which combined, is as long as the S-IC and S-II stages of the Saturn V), as well as the Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and the Altair Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), which will use the same LH2 and LOX fuel and oxidizer as the Ares V’s core stage itself.

Because of the Ares V’s in-line design, the three existing MLPs, which date back to Apollo and modified to accommodate the “piggybacked” Shuttle, will undergo a major overhaul in order to accommodate the Ares V and its launch umbilical tower, which will have Apollo-like swing arms for the EDS and the Altair LSAM. Due to their age and the need to support the immense weight of the Ares V and its tower (which will weigh more than the Apollo-Saturn V system), the current Crawler-Transporters, in use since 1967, will be upgraded with newer engines and other equipment to allow support of both the Ares I and Ares V when lunar flight commence after 2018. Although it would be primarily used for Ares V flights, LC-39A can also support launches of the Ares I in the event LC-39B is damaged or destroyed in a launch pad accident.

Other changes

The VAB is currently undergoing modifications to accommodate the simultaneous assembly and checkout operations for both the Shuttle and for the Ares I. Eventually, the VAB will undergo further modifications to allow for the assembly of both an Ares I and Ares V when lunar missions commence after 2018.

In addition to changes to the VAB, two to three new Mobile Launcher Platforms will be built to support the in-line Ares I booster and its support tower (although the Ares I-X flight used the existing Space Shuttle facilities), and the Apollo-era Crawler-Transporters will be upgraded to support the program.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Individual Space Shuttle Orbiters are named in honor of antique sailing ships of the navies of the world, and they are also numbered using the NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation system. While all of the Orbiters are externally practically identical, they have minor differences in their interiors. New equipment for the Orbiters is installed in the same order that they are undergoing maintenance work, and the newer Orbiters were constructed by Rockwell International, under NASA supervision, with some more advanced, lighter in weight, structural elements. Thus, the newer Orbiters, such as the ”Atlantis” and the ”Endeavour”, have slightly-more cargo capacity than the other ones did.

* The ”Enterprise” was a prototype designed to test Space Shuttle behavior in atmospheric flight. She is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport.

* The ”Columbia” first launched on April 12, 1981. On February 1, 2003, the ”Columbia” burned and disintegrated during her re-entry during her 28th spaceflight.

* The ”Challenger” first launched on April 4, 1983. On January 28, 1986 she exploded and disintegratred 73 seconds after her launch on her 10th mission.

* The ”Discovery” first launched on August 30, 1984. She has flown on 35 missions, and she is still flightworthy today. She was NASA’s Return to Flight vehicle, following the accidental destruction of the ”Challenger” and the ”Columbia”

* The ”Atlantis” first launched on October 3, 1985. She has flown 30 spaceflights and was officially retired from service in May 2010.

* The ”Endeavour” first launched on May 7, 1992. She has flown 22 spaceflights, and she is still flightworthy today. She is tentively scheduled to be retired from service in January 2011.

In addition to the test articles and orbiters produced for use in the Shuttle program, there are also various mock-ups on display throughout the world:

*”Space Shuttle Explorer”, a full-scale replica of an orbiter at the Kennedy Space Center visitor’s complex

*”Space Shuttle Adventure”, a full-scale replica of an orbiter mid-deck and flight deck at Space Center Houston

*”Space Shuttle America”, a full-scale replica of a space shuttle for a theme park attraction since disassembled and removed

*”Space Shuttle Pathfinder”, an actual full-scale mock-up of the space shuttle originally built and used to test clearance and various ground operations; currently displayed at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Space Shuttle orbiter, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Florida’s peninsular shape and temperature contrasts between land and ocean provide ideal conditions for electrical storms earning Central Florida the reputation as “lightning capitol of the United States”. This makes extensive lightning protection and detection systems necessary to protect employees, structures and spacecraft on launch pads safe. On November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 was struck by lightning just after lift-off from Pad 39A, but the flight continued safely. The most powerful lightning strike recorded at KSC occurred at LC-39B on August 25, 2006 while shuttle ”Atlantis” was being prepared for STS-115. NASA managers were initially concerned that the lightning strike caused damage to ”Atlantis”, but none was found.

In October 2004, Hurricane Charley caused an estimated $700,000 in damage to KSC. On September 7, 2004, Hurricane Frances directly hit the area with sustained winds of and gusts up to , the most damaging storm to date. The Vehicle Assembly Building lost 1,000 exterior panels, each x in size. This exposed of the building to the elements. Damage occurred to the south and east sides of the VAB. The shuttle’s Thermal Protection System Facility suffered extensive damage. The roof was partially torn off and the interior suffered water damage. Several rockets on display in the center were toppled. Further damage to KSC was caused by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Kennedy Space Center, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article Barack Obama space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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NASA’s first launch, Pioneer 1, came on October 11, 1958 from Cape Canaveral LC-17A using a Thor-Able booster. The civilian agency has used launch pads at Cape Canaveral AFS ever since for many unmanned launches ranging from satellites to lunar probes, including the Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter series during the 1960s.

NASA has also launched communications and weather satellites from Launch Complexes 40 and 41, built at the north end of the Cape in 1964 by the Air Force for its Titan IIIC and Titan IV rockets. From 1974–1977 the powerful Titan IIIE served as the heavy-lift vehicle for NASA, launching the Viking and Voyager series of planetary spacecraft and the Cassini–Huygens Saturn probe from LC-41.

NASA currently uses two Cape Canaveral pads: SLC-41 for the Atlas V and SLC-37B for the Delta IV, both for heavy payloads.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Kennedy Space Center, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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