The iconic launch pads , Pads 39A and 39B at Kennedy Space Center ’ s Launch Complex 39 , have been the starting point for many space flights including the first manned lunar landing . The original design for Launch Complex 39 called for three to five launch pads , designated 39A – 39E , that would have been spaced approximately 1.6 miles apart to protect them from damage if any mishaps occurred at an adjacent pad . Also part of Launch Complex 39 is the Vehicle Assembly Building , or VAB . Towering more than 500 feet , it can be seen easily from miles away . The Launch Control Center , or LCC , where all the launch controllers , support personnel , and equipment required to safely launch a vehicle from either of the launch pads is also a part of the large complex .
Pad 39A from sand to Apollo
Pad 39A was originally designated to be Pad 39C in the complex ’ s original plan , however it became 39A when plans to build the three additional pads were scrapped in 1963 . Launch Complex 39 ’ s A pad was completed first . Construction began in November of 1963 and was completed in early September 1965 . Built on around a quarter square mile of land , the launch site is an eight sided polygon and measures 3,000 feet across . The pad itself is 390 feet by 325 feet and is constructed of reinforced concrete . The hardstand stands 48 feet above sea level . To get from sea level up to the hard stand , a five-percent sloped ramp was constructed . Which raises the question , “ Why build up and not down to avoid having to have a ramp up to the pad ?”. The answer is simple , the pads are located in Florida just a quarter mile away from the Atlantic Ocean , and digging down just a few feet you will encounter water . So to protect all the equipment and facilities that are under the pad , the decision to build above ground was made .
For Apollo , the pad would be a clean pad , no structure , towers , or other support equipment was located on top of the pad . All these items would be brought with the vehicle . The vehicle was assembled on a massive platform known as a Mobile Launcher . On the Mobile Launcher was a Launch Umbilical Tower ( LUT ) and a mobile service structure which allowed for crew access , all the umbilical connections for the rocket , elevators , service platforms , everything you needed to get the vehicle ready for launch on the pad . The Mobile Launcher was transported by a new vehicle , called the Crawler , from the Vehicle Assembly Building out to the pad . The Mobile launcher would be lowered onto pedestals located atop the hardstand .
Without the Mobile Launcher at the pad , from the outside mostly what you see at Pad 39A is the pad itself , however much more lies beneath the exterior . A two-story pad terminal connection room which houses all of the electronic equipment that would connect the Launch Control Center with the Mobile Launcher when it ’ s on the pad , is located on the western side of the pad . Also on the same side is the environmental control systems room which supports the air conditioning and water systems . Beneath the east side of the pad is the high-pressure-gas storage facility , where nitrogen and helium gases piped from the converter-compressor
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