NASA KSC Space Launch Complex 39

Every Space Shuttle launched at Kennedy Space Center has been from RS&H designed service structures and support equipment. RS&H developed design criteria and designed modifications for the Launch Pad. These designs enabled the flights of the Space Shuttle, which took the Hubble Space Telescope and numerous satellites into orbit, as well as carried supplies to the International Space Station.

RS&H developed more than 500 design criteria and modifications to Launch Pad 39A to accommodate changes to the shuttle, including designing the Rotating Service Structure, which processes payloads into the Shuttle cargo bay, and a sound suppression system to minimize sound and vibration during lift off. RS&H also completed 57 analytical studies to determine which facilities would be used for processing and launching the Space Shuttle throughout its life. RS&H also produced five Preliminary Engineering Reports to specify exactly what would be converted or recycled to save construction costs. These reports were the basis for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.