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Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A

Up close image of the saltwater diverter into the flame trench in launch complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida USA. the saltwater diverter helps lessen the sound vibration during launch. This pad was originally built for the huge Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and back. Following the joint U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission of July 1975, the pads were modified to support space shuttle operations. additional design was added to support the concept of mobile launch operations, in which space vehicles are checked out and assembled in the protected environment of the Orbiter Processing Facility and the Vehicle Assembly Building, then transported by large, tracked crawlers to the launch pad for final processing and launch. The pad most recently hosted the launch of Artemis 1 for the historic return to the moon. (Photo by George Wilson/NurPhoto)

Photo ID	#9330304
Date Taken	16 November 2018
Location	N/A
Photographer	George Wilson/NurPhoto
Category	Science and Technology
Copyright	© 2026 NurPhoto - George Wilson/NurPhoto

Brevard County Florida Kennedy Space Center NASA Space Program NurPhoto Saltwater diverter flame trench Florida USA Apollo/Saturn V rockets Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission space shuttle operations mobile launch operations Orbiter Processing Facility Vehicle Assembly Building tracked crawlers Artemis 1 Cloud Sky sky cloud outdoor ground steel