Kennedy Space Center FacilitiesNew Employee Orientation Training

KLASS

NASA’s Mission

NASA's mission is to pioneer future space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.

Today’s Objectives

• Become familiar with background of the Space Shuttle Program

• Become familiar with KSC: operation centers and instrumentation

Overview

• NASA Centers

• KSC Facilities

• General Shuttle Overview

NASA Centers & Facilities

KSC Facilities

Why Kennedy Space Center?

Center Director's Welcome

Kennedy Space Center Director William Parsons

KSC Facilities

A Rich History

Dr. Werner Von Braun explains the Saturn rocket system to President

John F. Kennedy at Launch Complex 37 in November 1963.

KSC Visitor Complex

Click image to view the interactive map

External Tank (ET)

Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs)

Orbiter (Endeavour)

All together = Shuttle

STS=Space Transportation System

General Shuttle Overview

OV-099, Challenger: 10

OV-102, Columbia: 28

OV-103, Discovery: 34

OV-104, Atlantis: 29

OV-105, Endeavour: 21

Total Flights: 122

OV = Orbiter Vehicle

Shuttle Flights 1981 - June, 2008

VAB and LCC

Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)

Launch Control Center (LCC)

Orbiter Processing Facility

Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)

Inside OPF

Fixed Service Structure

Water Storage Tank

Hydrogen/Oxygen Storage

Rotating Service Structure

(Retracted)

Launch Complex 39 A and B

Orbiter Weather Protection

Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)

A single landing strip--considered 2 runways

-- Runway 15 from northwest

-- Runway 33 from southeast

- 15,000 feet long

- 1,000 foot-paved overruns at each end

- 300 feet wide (length of football field)

- 50-foot asphalt shoulders each side

- 16” thick in the center, 15” thick on sides

- Slope of 24”, center line to edge, for drainage

-- Night Landings: Flatbed trailers hold eight Xenon lights, 4 on each end of runway

-- Each Xenon light produces 1 billion candlepower (candela)

-- Only turn on lights that will be behind crew when it lands

Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)

Terminology/Acronyms

External TankKennedy Space CenterLaunch Control CenterOrbiter Processing FacilityShuttle Landing Facility

Space Transportation SystemVertical Assembly Building

ET -KSC -LCC -OPF -SLF -

STS -VAB -

Solid Rocket BoosterSRB -

Orbiting VehicleOV -

Terminology/Acronyms

Challenger

Columbia

Discovery

AtlantisEndeavour

OV-099 -

OV-102 -

OV-103 -

OV-104 -

OV-105 -

Orbiter Weather ProtectionOWP -Rotating Service StructureRSS -

EnterpriseOV-100 -