The [URL=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/fixed-service-structure.html]fixed service structure[/URL] (FSS) is the pad's most prominent feature, standing 347 feet from ground level to the tip of the [
since removed] 80 foot lightning mast.
There are 12 floors on the FSS, positioned at 20-foot intervals. The first is located 27 feet above the pad surface.
A crane is being used to dismantle the FSS floor by floor beginning Monday with the 267-foot level. Work to remove the
rotating service structure (RSS) also continues at the pad.
The FSS and RSS were designed to support the unique needs of the space shuttle. In 2009, the pad was no longer needed for the shuttle program, so NASA began restructuring it for future use.
Its new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own support structures, which NASA says will make it more versatile for a number of vehicles.