posted 12-13-2013 05:26 PM               

SpaceX to lease historic NASA launch pad

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX, to lease a historic launch pad for the company's commercial rockets.

The space agency announced on Friday (Dec. 13) that it is beginning negotiations with SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif. to take over exclusive use of Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA used the pad for decades to send astronauts to the moon and later launch space shuttles into Earth orbit.

"Permitting the use and operation of this valuable national asset by a private-sector, commercial space partner will ensure its continued viability and allow for its continued use in support of U.S. space activities," NASA said in its statement announcing the selection.

posted 04-14-2014 08:53 PM               

NASA signs over historic Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX

One of NASA's most historic launch pads is now under new management.

Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is now under the direction of SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies), the private spaceflight company headed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. The launch pad, which was the site where Apollo 11 lifted off on the first manned moon landing in July 1969, will now support the company's rockets and spacecraft as they depart for Earth orbit, and possibly destinations beyond.

"Today, this historic site, from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began, and from which I first flew and left the planet on STS-61C on Columbia, is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site," said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator and former astronaut, during a press conference held at the pad.

On Monday (April 14), NASA signed a property agreement with SpaceX beginning a 20-year lease to occupy and use the launch pad. Over the course of the next two decades, the Hawthorne, California-based company will operate and maintain the facility at its own expense.

posted 06-09-2015 08:25 PM               

Our biggest hangar yet in work at Kennedy Space Center — capable of holding up to 5 rockets at once.

posted 02-04-2016 08:47 PM               

Our 212-foot-tall Transporter Erector went vertical on Pad 39A today. Built to support Falcon 9 and Heavy.

posted 06-13-2016 06:23 PM               

SpaceX performs modifications to Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company removed more than 500,000 pounds of steel from the structure as part of its work. The company is setting up the former space shuttle and Apollo/Saturn V launch pad to host the liftoff of its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Crew Dragon spacecraft also are to liftoff from the pad aboard Falcon 9s. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

posted 09-01-2017 12:14 PM               

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Eric Boe walk down the Crew Access Arm being built by SpaceX for Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The access arm will be installed on the launch pad, providing a bridge between the crew access tower and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon — or Dragon 2 — spacecraft for astronauts flying to the International Space Station on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The access arm is being readied for installation in early 2018. It will be installed 70 feet higher than the former space shuttle access arm on the launch pad’s Fixed Service Structure. SpaceX continues to modify the historic launch site from its former space shuttle days, removing more than 500,000 pounds of steel from the pad structure, including the Rotating Service Structure that was once used for accessing the payload bay of the shuttle.

posted 08-25-2018 01:45 PM               

SpaceX adds new astronaut walkway to historic NASA launch pad

A new astronaut walkway added by SpaceX to a historic NASA launch pad looks decidedly different from the heritage hardware it is replacing, but it carries on a 50-year legacy leading crew members to their ride to space.

"Crew access arm installed at Launch Complex 39A in Florida; will serve as a bridge for NASA astronauts to board Crew Dragon," wrote SpaceX on its social media accounts on Friday (Aug. 24), captioning a photo of the sleek new ramp.

See here for discussion of SpaceX's use of NASA's Launch Complex 39A.