Launch pad
hideA launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff. A Spaceport (or rocket launch site) can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch. Most service structures can be moved or rotated to a safe distance. The umbilical structure has propellent loading, gas, power, and communication links to the launch vehicle. The launch vehicle sits atop of the launch platform, which has the flame deflection structure to withstand the intense heat and load generated by rocket engines during liftoff.
Most cryogenic launch vehicles need to be continuously topped off as scheduled liftoff approaches. This is particularly necessary as various holds are placed on the liftoff and then removed as support personnel correct problems or verify they are not serious. Without the ability to top off the launch vehicle, the launch would have to be scrubbed when problems slowed down the countdown. Gantries are commonly designed and constructed on launch pads to meet these types of servicing requirements both during launch and in the preparation period leading up to it.
Most rockets need stable support for a few seconds after ignition while the engines ramp up and stabilize at full thrust. This stability requirement is commonly met by the use of explosive bolts to connect the launch vehicle to the pad. When the vehicle is stable and ready to fly the bolts explode, severing the vehicle's ties to the launch pad and structures on the ground.
For more information about Launch pad, read the full article at
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News tagged with launch pad
SMOS and Proba-2 satellites installed in launch tower
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In readiness for launch on 2 November, ESA’s SMOS and Proba-2 satellites - encapsulated in the launcher fairing - have been transported from the cleanroom and installed in the launch tower ...
NASA tries 2nd time to launch experimental rocket
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Bad weather was interfering with NASA's attempt to launch a new, experimental rocket for the second day in a row early Wednesday.
NASA puts new Ares I-X rocket on launch pad for test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time in more than a quarter century, a new vehicle is sitting at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ares I-X flight test vehicle arrived at the pad ...
Light-Duty Day for ISS Crew, Expedition 21 to Launch Wednesday Morning
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Expedition 20 crew members had a light-duty work day and performed a variety of maintenance and science-related tasks Monday as they prepare for a busy week aboard the International Space ...
Rocket readied at Kazakh steppe for ISS mission
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Workers at Russia's manned space-launch facility lifted to the launch pad on Monday a rocket that is to send Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two astronauts to the International Space Station.
NASA Successfully Tests Alternate Launch Abort System for Astronaut Escape
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's next generation of spacecraft will have the safest-ever astronaut escape system, a modern-day version of the reliable Apollo system. Like Apollo, the Orion launch abort system will ...
NASA Launch Tests Alternate Concept for Astronaut Escape System
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 04, 2009 |
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NASA's Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, is scheduled to be tested June 15 at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. EDT.
Shuttle Atlantis blasts off on last Hubble mission
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven thundered away Monday on one last flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, setting off on an extraordinarily ambitious repair mission that NASA hopes will lift ...
Rescue shuttle moved to launch pad just in case
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour is on a launch pad, ready to rocket off on a rescue mission if shuttle Atlantis needs help when it flies to repair the Hubble Space Telescope next month.
NASA: Good shot at Sunday shuttle launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- NASA feels it has a good shot at sending shuttle Discovery to the international space station on Sunday following repairs out at the launch pad.
GOCE gravity satellite moves to launch pad
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- With liftoff just five days away, ESA's GOCE spacecraft - encased in the protective half-shells of the launcher fairing - has been transported from the cleanroom and installed in the launch ...
Orbiting Carbon Observatory Set for Feb. 24 Launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket set to launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory is now fully assembled at Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Kepler Planet Finding Mission Set for March 5 Launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2009 |
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NASA's Kepler spacecraft is on its way to the launch pad and will soon begin a journey to search for worlds that could potentially host life.
NASA to Set Official Shuttle Discovery Launch Date
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 03, 2009 |
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At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA managers are engaged in the executive-level Flight Readiness Review, or FRR, to evaluate Discovery’s readiness for launch.
Endeavour Rolls To Launch Pad for November Launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 23, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Space shuttle Endeavour began moving off Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday morning at 8:28. It will take about seven hours to reposition the shuttle for launch on Launch ...
