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Author
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Topic: [Discuss] SpaceX's use of Complex 39A
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-15-2018 04:59 PM
   
SpaceX on Wednesday (Aug. 15) rolled out its crew access arm to the base of the fixed service structure on Pad 39A ahead of its expected installation later this week. Photo from Stephen C. Smith on Twitter: |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-20-2018 11:10 AM
From Tom McCool on Twitter: SpaceX is in the process of lifting the crew access arm into place this morning! Astronauts will use this to board the spacecraft.  
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328KF
Member Posts: 1391
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 08-20-2018 03:18 PM
Glass? On a launch pad? I hope its really, really thick! |
teopze
Member Posts: 200
From: Ithaca, NY
Registered: May 2008
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posted 08-22-2018 08:06 AM
If nothing else it looks very modern. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-02-2019 05:54 PM
Pad 39A prior to the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-1: 
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issman1
Member Posts: 1217
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 03-02-2019 05:55 PM
How effective is the pad's new black cladding and matching paintwork against Cape Canaveral's rust-inducing salt air? And will the pad's newly relocated emergency egress slidewire baskets be tested with astronauts Behnken and Hurley? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-03-2020 10:22 PM
SpaceX is finalizing plans to build a new moveable tower at Pad 39A, reports Spaceflight Now. Its function will be similar to mobile gantries in use at other launch pads, such as service towers used by United Launch Alliance at the company’s Delta 4 launch pads at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.The tower will surround Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets at pad 39A, shielding the vehicles from storms and high winds and providing a controlled environment for ground crews to hoist heavy satellites and mount them on top of the launch vehicles in a vertical configuration. ...SpaceX officials said the vertical integration capability is required for participants in the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-27-2020 09:05 AM
From Spaceflight Now, via Twitter: An artist's concept of SpaceX's planned mobile service tower at launch pad 39A in Florida has been published in an FAA draft environmental assessment. A Falcon Heavy rocket with an extended fairing is pictured in this image.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-06-2026 01:22 PM
SpaceX is currently working to remove the crew access arm from Pad 39A's fixed service structure, halting crewed launches from the site as the company focuses on completing the infrastructure for Starship.The arm will be lowered by crane and held in safe storage for future possible use. The pad will continue to be used for Falcon Heavy launches. Crew Dragon missions will depart from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. |
issman1
Member Posts: 1217
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 02-06-2026 02:30 PM
Sad to think that there may be no more manned launches from 39A in my lifetime.Starship may launch somebody, someday from this site but not for many years.
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SpaceAngel
Member Posts: 589
From: Maryland
Registered: May 2010
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posted 02-12-2026 12:52 PM
Can someone plz explain why the access arm from Pad-39A is being removed? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 55958
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-12-2026 01:42 PM
From an article I wrote for Space.com: "We're going to do some maintenance on some bearings that support the crew arm," said Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's vice president for build and flight reliability, in response to a question from Space.com. "The arm physically has to come down to get to the bearings. These are the bearings that actually hold the arm to the tower.""They are unique to 39A; they're very different than they are for the arm that's on SLC-40 and to physically get access to those, the arm needs to be removed. Those bearings have to come out, and they have to be reinstalled," said Gerstenmaier. After the work is complete, the arm will remain on the ground, but can be reinstalled if NASA has a need for a crewed launch from 39A. Otherwise, SpaceX plans to launch Falcon 9 rockets from the Cape, while reserving the Kennedy pad for Falcon Heavy and future Starship flights. "We don't need to put the arm back up, because if we get called up for a mission, we will have plenty of time. That's the easy piece, putting it up," Gerstenmaier said. |
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