Editing Kennedy Space Center (section)

=== Launch Complex 39 ===
{{Main|Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39}}

[[File:Aerial View of Launch Complex 39.jpg|thumb|The [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (center) in 1999, with the [[Launch Control Center]] jutting out from its right, and Pads A and B in the distance]]
[[File:Kennedy Space Center VAB.jpg|thumb|Closeup photo of the VAB]]

[[Launch Complex 39]] (LC-39) was originally built for the [[Saturn V]], the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the [[Space Launch System]], for the [[Apollo program|Apollo crewed Moon landing program]]. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including [[Skylab]] (1973), the [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]] (1975), and the [[Space Shuttle program]] (1981–2011).

Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|launch pads A]] and [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B|B]] at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, {{convert|3|mi|km}} east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V,<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Benson
 | first1 = Charles D.
 | last2 = Faherty
 | first2 = William B.
 | title = Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations
 | publisher = NASA
 | series = History Series
 | volume = SP-4204
 | date=August 1977
 | url = http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html
 | chapter = Preface
 | chapter-url = https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/preface.html
 }}</ref> and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all [[Space Shuttle]] launches.

Human missions to the [[Moon]] required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was {{convert|363|ft|m|sp=us|abbr=off}} tall and {{convert|33|ft|m|sp=us|abbr=off}} in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800&nbsp;million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.

The complex includes:
* the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (VAB), a {{convert|130000000|ft3|m3}} hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.<ref name="congressional record Sep 8, 2004">{{cite journal|title=Senate|journal=Congressional Record|date=September 8, 2004|page=17598}}</ref>
* a [[Crawler-transporter|transporter]] capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a [[crawlerway]] to either of two launch pads;
* a {{convert|446|ft|m|0|adj=on}} mobile [[service structure]], with three [[Mobile Launcher Platform]]s, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
* the [[Launch Control Center]]; and
* a [[Launch Complex 39 Press Site|news media facility]].