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Maxar 's WorldView 3 satellite captured Monday high – resolution views of NASA' s launch twins for the Apollo period at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, which today house new launchers 50 years after the launch. man had made his first steps on the moon.
Launch pad 39A is now leased to SpaceX by NASA for the launch of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The commercial space company resumed operations on the launch pad in 2014 and began launching missions to this site on February 19, 2017.
On the picture taken on Monday by Maxar's WorldView 3 satellite, SpaceX's powerful return conveyor structure is in a horizontal position on the 39A pad, and an American flag is seen waving from the fixed service structure of the facility. , a tower originally built for the Space Shuttle and modified for SpaceX. use.
The access arm of the crew to 39A platform is also visible. The swivel arm will be used by astronauts aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, one of two new commercial spacecraft under contract with NASA, to restore independent access to the International Space Station for astronauts Americans, without leaning on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz.
WorldView 3 took photos of the two launch pads at NASA's 39 historical launch complex at an altitude of approximately 617 kilometers. Both launch pads are located less than half a kilometer from the Kennedy Space Center beach and were built in the 1960s for the Apollo Moon program.
Pad 39A has been the starting point for 112 launches since 1967, including 12 Saturn 5 rockets, 82 space shuttle missions, 15 Falcon 9 rockets and three Falcon Heavy flights.
The Apollo 11 mission, which began 50 years ago on July 16, left platform 39A for the first astronaut landing mission on the Moon. Other notable launches of the 39A platform include the take-off of the Skylab space station, the first and last space shuttle flights, and the first launch of Falcon Heavy, the most powerful commercial launcher ever built.
Pad 39B, located approximately 1.5 kilometers north of 39A, has received 59 launches since 1969. One Saturn 5 rocket, four Saturn 1B missions, 53 space shuttle flights, and one NASA La Suborbital test launch. Ares 1 rocket canceled took off from the 39B platform.
The last launch of the 39A platform took place on June 25th: a Falcon Heavy took off with two dozen satellites. The most recent release of Pad 39B was the Ares 1X test in October 2009.
The 39B platform is experiencing increased activity as NASA prepares for the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket, scheduled for late 2020 or early 2021.
The space launch launching launcher was deployed on the 39B platform on June 27th to launch a series of three-month audits and trials, including reduction tests. noise in the water, liquid hydrogen and oxygen spills, as well as a complete check of the electrical compatibility with the launch pad.
The mobile platform will carry the 322-foot (98-meter) SLS rocket from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building to cover 39B during launch campaigns.
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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ StephenClark1.
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