The Complex 40 / LC-40 Mobile Service Tower at Cape Canaveral was demolished today by 200 pounds of explosives. The construction for the tower began in 1992. Over the following years SLC-40 was the launch site for over 55 Titan, DSP and Milstar launches. Memorably, it also hosted the Mars Observer and Cassini-Huygens launchers. The most recent launch at the site was on April 30, 2005, when a Titan IVB launched the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite. The site will now be reserved for the construction of a new facility for SpaceX Falcon 9 launches.
Port Canaveral is now the second busiest port in the country, largely because of its proximity to several large cities, Disney World and other Orlando attractions. Those exciting theme parks are fun to visit once or twice a decade but one attraction, located on the space coast only 15 minutes drive from Port Canaveral, is every bit as exciting as any I've seen. I am speaking of the completely renovated Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex.
With a flash of explosives and a thundering boom, two launch towers toppled at Space Launch Complex 36, which launched missions that set the stage for the countrys moon and planet flights. A total of about 122 pounds of explosives eliminated the base of the 209-foot-tall tower at Pad 36B after 10 a.m., then did the same to its twin at Pad 36A minutes later.
When NASA built the gargantuan Vehicle Assembly Building at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre in 1965, corrosion wasn't high on its list of worries. At that time, the space agency was scrambling to beat the Soviets to the moon. But four decades of Florida heat, humidity and salty sea breezes took their toll on the structure. Long after Neil Armstrong's small step onto the moon's surface, NASA found itself taking big leaps to prevent space vehicles and workers from being hit by concrete crumbling off the building's massive 215,000-square-foot roof. The problem is the effect of Florida's moist, salty air on the reinforcing steel embedded inside the concrete.
Kennedy Space Centre Closes for Tropical Storm Ernesto
As a result of Tropical Storm Ernesto approaching Central Florida, Kennedy Space Centre was closed at midnight. All non-essential KSC employees were asked not to report to work on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Based on current conditions, the centre is expected to reopen Thursday, Aug. 31, or as soon as the "all clear" is given. A ride-out crew has been designated and will remain at KSC in critical facilities during the storm. If HURCON I (hurricane condition with 58 mph sustained winds within 12 hours) is declared, the ride-out crew will report to their appointed stations until the "all clear" is given.
Cape Canaveral is roughly in the middle of Florida's eastern coastline, just over 75 kilometres east of Orlando. The first rocket launch from the Cape was Bumper 8 from Launch Pad 3 on 24 July 1950. On February 6, 1959 the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile was accomplished here.
(123kb, 606 x 926) Latitude 28°34'17.03"N Longitude 80°36'50.92"W
The name "Canaveral" (Cañaveral in Spanish) was given to the area by Spanish explorers, and it literally means "canebrake". It can be interpreted as "Cape of Canes". From 1963 to 1973 it was called Cape Kennedy.