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Photo, Print, Drawing Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Shuttle Landing Facility, Near the southwest corner of the Beach Road/Kennedy Parkway North intersection, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL John F. Kennedy Space Center

[ Data Pages from Survey HAER FL-8-11-J  ]

More Resources

[ Photo Captions from Survey HAER FL-8-11-J  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Shuttle Landing Facility, Near the southwest corner of the Beach Road/Kennedy Parkway North intersection, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL

Other Title

  • John F. Kennedy Space Center

Names

  • Historic American Engineering Record, creator
  • Greiner Engineering Sciences, Inc., Architect
  • Connell Associates, Architect
  • Morrison-Knudsen, Inc., Builder
  • Reinhold Construction Comapany, Builder
  • Beckman Construction Company, Builder
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Owner

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1968

Headings

  • -  space flight
  • -  Shuttle Program
  • -  facilities
  • -  station
  • -  space exploration
  • -  national space program
  • -  runways (aeronautics)
  • -  Florida -- Brevard County -- Cape Canaveral

Latitude / Longitude

  • 28.6150155310094,-80.6944523538024

Notes

  • -  Significance: The Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Historic District, which is comprised of the SLF Runway, the Landing Aids Control Building (LACB), and the Mate-Demate Device (MDD), is considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in the context of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program (1969-2010) under Criterion A in the area of Space Exploration and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering. Because it has achieved significance within the past 50 years, Criteria Consideration G applies. Under Criterion A, the SLF Historic District is the site where all five orbiters originally arrived at KSC from their assembly plant in Palmdale, California. It serves as the main landing site for the Shuttle vehicle, or as a return from landing site when weather or other issues necessitated the use of Edwards Air Force Base in California, as the landing facility. The LACB functions as the main organizational hub for fire and rescue operations, security officers, safety and medical teams and other KSC support operations during both Shuttle landing and take-off, in the event of an emergency return-to-launch-site (RTLS) maneuver. In addition, the SLF supports astronaut training. Under Criterion C, the SLF Runway and the MDD were specifically engineered for the Space Shuttle orbiter. The 15,000-foot length of the SLF Runway, excluding the 1,000-foot overruns at each end, was necessary due to the speed, 303 mph, with which the orbiter lands, and the thickness of the Runway, 16" at the center and 15" at the sides, is necessary to accommodate the weight of the orbiter. The MDD was specially designed as a large crane, capable of lifting the orbiter, and has two moveable Access/Service Platforms (A/SP), one per orbiter side, to enable the crew to access the locations where the Space Shuttle orbiter attaches to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).
  • -  Survey number: HAER FL-8-11-J
  • -  Building/structure dates: HAER FL-8-11-J
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 64500111

Medium

  • Photo(s): 113
  • Data Page(s): 63
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 12

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HAER FL-8-11-J

Source Collection

  • Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • fl0744

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HAER FL-8-11-J
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, Inc Greiner Engineering Sciences, Architect Connell Associates, Inc Morrison-Knudsen, Builder Reinhold Construction Comapany, Builder Beckman Construction Company, and Owner National Aeronautics And Space Administration. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Shuttle Landing Facility, Near the southwest corner of the Beach Road/Kennedy Parkway North intersection, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL. Brevard County Cape Canaveral Florida, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/fl0744/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, C., Greiner Engineering Sciences, I., Connell Associates, A., Morrison-Knudsen, I., Reinhold Construction Comapany, B., Beckman Construction Company, B. & National Aeronautics And Space Administration, O. (1968) Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Shuttle Landing Facility, Near the southwest corner of the Beach Road/Kennedy Parkway North intersection, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL. Brevard County Cape Canaveral Florida, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fl0744/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, et al. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 39, Shuttle Landing Facility, Near the southwest corner of the Beach Road/Kennedy Parkway North intersection, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/fl0744/>.