Happy New year to everyone - whoot :-) . This video was a suggestion from Didu Tasev, a member of our facebook group who wanted to know more about the launchpads themselves. I thought that this was a good idea but limited to the most famous Launch Complex 39 at Cape Canaveral to give an overview of how it came into being and why it is, as it is. There are a lot of things in this that could be a subject in their own right, so maybe I'll expand on them at some point.

I just visited both pads this last September. It was a GLORIOUS experience.

To me, the cape is sacred ground. And i'm not even American.

Don't forget the lightning caused by the static built up by the exhaust. There was a system for it on the shuttle launch system if I recall correctly. I worked for Rockwell primary contractor for the shuttles.

The Crawler was built by Marion Power Shovel, in Marion Ohio (1 hour north of Columbus). My grandfather helped build it :-D

I worked at NASA/KSC in 2002 and going out to the pad areas was always a treat. Fun fact, between missions, if you're out on the pads there's no easy way to grab a cold drink or anything from the SSPF, VAB etc. (they're 20 minute drives away!) so underneath the pad there's power hookups for various "canteen" facilities: think about that the next time you watch a launch: someone was grabbing a cold drink right next to where that huge plume of flame and smoke is billowing out! :) I mostly worked in the ONC and SSPF areas, though. I think you should do a video on the milk stools remaining in place out there, too, from previous launches. Many of the "abandoned" areas of NASA are like Mayan or Aztec ruins now, overgrown "stone" structures in the mangroves...

To other KZfaq creators ,this is how you make videos. Always enjoyable and informative. Cheers.

I don't work there, but I do live on Florida's Space Coast. Launches are almost routine, and the only thing as spectacular as the Space Shuttle was is the Falcon Heavy (which SpaceX has only launched once, and holy hell, it was incredibly to watch from the beach). If any of you guys come to see a launch, wait for another Falcon Heavy launch, or come see a night launch. You really get to appreciate the scale of any of the rockets after dark.

I work at NASA and I'm still learning about LC39. Didn't know about the MSS for Saturn V, and also didn't know about LC-39C. Thanks for the informative video. Cheers.

Watching the launch and the roar of the mighty Saturn V still gives me goosebumps. They say the only thing more powerful (and more noisy) is a nuclear explosion. To me, it sounds like music. What a fantastic era that was - the vision, the courage, the technology, the science and the progress. Absolutely wonderful. Happy new year to all!

I thought “how interesting can a launch pad be?” Very, it turns out. Thanks again for a brilliant video!

Dr. Martin Uman was involved in the original design of the lightning protection system. He was one of my professors at the Univ. of Fla. For many years I saw him mentioned on various documentaries as probably the most knowledgeable lightning expert in the world. The last time I remember seeing him on TV, they were shooting small rockets up into thunderstorms to attract lightning to the ground :-) The life of an EE graduate student..... I Visited the Cape a couple of years ago with a tour that took us inside the VAB and up close to the 39 launch complexes. There was one shuttle inside as they were being prepared for transport for their final display destinations. In Green Cove Springs, there is a Shuttle center fuel tank that was taken by barge up the St. Johns river where it was to be moved to a museum for display. The tank was a spare that sits at a marina, it was used for fit up testing at the Cape. It is near where I stored my sailboat. It's hard to imagine how big these things are until you get up next to them! On the Cape tour is a Sat V on it's side, another must see. Out by the beach was a bunker covered in sandbags. It turns out there was no electricity out there so they ran a gas generator to power the cameras for Apollo launches. It turns out the first launch(s) was not filmed because the generator shut down, causse unknown. It turns out the sound was so intense that the sound waves boiled the fuel out of the carburetor hence the generator was placed in the bunker, problem solved.

Nothing like watching another video of curious Droid along with a cup of tea.

Scrolling through the internet bored out of my mind and BOOM! Curious Droid upload. It just got interesting.

3:34 When a 1960's NASA rig has cooler RGB lighting than your gaming PC in 2019...

When I was a kid, my Dad took me down to Florida to see the Apollo 11 and 13 launches. We say 11 from Cocoa Beach and we were able to get right on the grounds for 13. Pretty impressive seeing the Apollo rocket on the launch pad. I'll never forget the sound and sight of Apollo 13. Amazing stuff.

I love the detail regarding the gravel for the crawler

always a pleasure to see your new videos!

I have never clicked a video so fast!! Absolutely my favorite KZfaq channel!! :D

As usual interesting and superbly written, informative, and explained. Stephen.

Paul is the best presenter on KZfaq. Thank you sir.

Yes! A new video! Time to get some popcorn...

Hi Scott, you brought back many memories to me having worked at launch pad 39B for 10 years as mechanical tech in Lox facility and another 10 years as Shuttle Data Center analyst and test conductor in the LCC. I retired in 2010 and so thank you so much for your informative updates and history. Makes me smile once again. Miss my work there.

Happy new year Paul Chillito . Best wishes :)

This was incredibly interesting, people tend to talk about the rockets more than about the launchpads, but they are quite important and interesting as well!

Im close enough to where I can see rocket launch from LC-39A

An instant classic, possibly one of the best videos ever made by Curious Droid! Thank you!

Paul, this is a fascinating video. Easily your best production yet. Well done, man.

Love the new intro, you guys are really getting serious about delivering interesting, engaging content. I would love to work with a group like you guys some day.

Beautiful video. This ground has been hallowed by humanity's finest moments.

That was crazy interesting! Thanks curious Droid! My favorite video from you so far!

Finally a new video from Curious Droid! Keep up the amazing work.

I wish there was a ‘love’ or ‘awesome’ button as well as a ‘like’ button. A ‘like’ just doesn’t seem sufficient for your videos. One of the best so far! Keep up the excellent work in 2019. ❤️

Do one about the Guiana Space Centre, please. It's very exciting how that is being upgraded constantly because of new types of rockets.

This was the most informative of all the KZfaqs I've seen on the U.S. space program. Excellent job, Curious Droid. I thought I knew it all from devotedly following space missions while I was growing up, but this taught me a whole I hadn't known! Thank you!

Thanks for the efforts of making this video.

Wonderful stuff.

@Curious Droid Would be cool if you could take a look at the rocket engine test stands at Stennis Space Center. There are 4 main stands (A1, A2, B1 & B2) The two Bs are built together and supported the entire Saturn V main stage for cluster firing of all 5 F1s during Apollo. This stand has just been refitted to do similar testing for the entire SLS Core Stage and its 4 RS25s. Testing of the Core Stage should begin some time in 2019.

One of the most amazing KZfaq videos I've ever watched. Thanks heaps for this. A lot of time went into it.

Yet another fantastically researched and produced episode from the droid. Well done to you all. I’m learning all the time.

Great video and it’s very interesting 🚀 happy new year🎆🥳👽

I see Curious droid notification, I click, simple.

In 2011 we toured the complex after the last Shuttle flight what an impressive complex it is. In 1962 I worked for Rocketdyne space engine division producing the thrusters for the Gemini and Apollo those were exiting times.

It's refreshing to see so much love for a great channel and no trolls.

1958-GREAT YEAR!! NASA was formed, and I was born. GREAT VIDEO PAUL!!!

Great videos

A terrific video!! Living through that time was exciting. Thanks for helping to keep it alive.

Exceptionally high quality content as always. I'm really glad I found this channel last year and I hope you'll keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany.

The fact we can build all this in 4 years is crazy.

Who the hell gives a 17 minute long video a "thumbs down" six minutes after it was published? I thought channels like this one were idiot-proof.

Outstanding video Curious Droid. Many questions answered especially in the last two minutes.

Thank you SO MUCH for the hard work you put into making these videos. Consistently grabs and holds my attention. Hard to find on youtube nowadays, so again thank you.

Best shirt ever!

LOVE watching Saturn V launches... those were the days.....it really was a brave new world

Another fantastic video. I really enjoy your work. All the best to you in 2019.

Informative and easy watching. Love the shirts too. Keep up the excellent service.

I recommend Gunter Wendt's memoir, "The Unbroken Chain". He tells of a zipline escape system with an ordinary trampoline at the end for a safety stop, that got popular as a "ride" until NASA quashed it. He also tells the story of a NASA janitor who approached him and asked if he could bring his kids to look at the command module. He arranged for the janitor and the kids to come after hours one day, and they had the thrill of a lifetime.

Workers walking next to the transport vehicle had to wear protective helmets to prevent any injury in case the Saturn V would have fallen on their head

Thank you for another informative video! I want to wish you a happy new year, and further success to you.

I have to say the way you explain things in detail is so good iv literally binged watched all your videos

I've seen, as close as I could get, every Pad 39 Gantry's from the Skylab program up to the current incarnation now and it amazes me how they have been able to rework them over a relatively short time considering what they do. Story of Mr Wendt. I met him once at one of the Astronaut Hall of Fame inductions. I told him how, as a Kid, I'd always admired him since he was the last man on Earth to see and talk to the Astronauts before they were closed up and how he had to make sure so many things went and were right before it all happened. His frank response has stuck with me to this day: "I was just one of many people who had a job to do. My job was no more important than the Janitor, because, if he didn't do his job, I'd be up to my neck in Shit. My job was not more important." He told me this, after discovering I'd been sitting next to him the whole time during the Meet the Astronaut Luncheon that had John Young and Dick Crippen telling us about their journey to the Shuttle system. I off offhandedly mentioned to the "old man" sitting next to me how I thought the guy who locked them in and did all the checks in the White Room was probably the most important person in the program. I was telling the very man I admired, how much I admired him, and didn't even really know I was sitting right next to him having Lunch.

*sees notification* *Taps eagerly*

Yet another quality KZfaq video from Curious Droid. Well done !

Fascinating topic - thank you so much!!

Where's your JOIN button?

Fun fact: I was born the exact day of the challenger explosion

Yet another fantastic video, thanks for all of the time and effort that goes into these!

THIS was awesome to watch! Tons of useful stuff in such a short video! Many thanks! Looking forward to watching more!

When are we gonna build a space elevator?

What is the main eurorack sequencer you use?

Love your videos (and shirts). The composition of the shot at 9:49 is fantastic! Thank you for all the work you put into these! :)

Such an information packed video. Thank you. I always drop what I'm doing when I see a new video from you. 😁

How many V2 rockets did the west and USSR get off the Germans post war.? Great Video...

Plot Twist: It's the entrance to area 51

One of the most amazing stats to emerge from the Apollo program is this - the crawler moved with such precision that the tip end of the rocket - the very nib of the escape tower rocket - did not move out of vertical more than the width of a basketball. The platform was self-leveling as it moved along - each of the four trucks was continually adjusted to keep the rocket absolutely vertical to the ground.

I'm glad you made this video.I hadn't even thought about the construction until this

NASA: builds sophisticated escape system for engineers in case of emergency the USSR: xaxaxa too bad tovarish))))))

*_Elon Musk has left the chat_*

Man, this was an astonishing video. I was sitting on my chair with my jaw open the whole time at just how huge, complicated, smart, cool the entire thing and its individual parts are. Definitely one of the coolest videos to end year 2018 with, thank you CD!

Thanks for the terrific historical and technical explanation of LC 39.

NASA 2006: No Billy Bob you can't launch your own rocket you built. NASA 2019: Launch pad for rent, inquire within.

If we didn't waste so much money on the military, we'd have enough to horse around in space. We might even have enough left over to help some of the people in this country that have fallen on hard times, like veterans that are homeless and live on the street. No. That's silly. This is America, where your free to make your own choices on how you want to starve with no help from the gov't. Bully.

I still remember when my dad took us on the tour of the Cape back in 1971 and Apollo 15 was on the pad.I was 7 years old,and thought that was the coolest thing ever.Thanks for the memories Paul! Thanks for posting,and Happy New Year from Detroit!

Love these chewable bits of obscure space history! Stuff you don’t normally see on mainstream documentaries. Perfect research as usual! Happy NY!

"What happened?" lol The truth is, obama is what happened. Remember? He said we didnt need NASA.

Great to get some background info. I was lucky to be there to follow the last night launch of space shuttle - awesome

I've watched EVERY ONE of your videos(besides the live streams) and i cant get enough. Great channel with really great content.

Of all the Curious Droid videos this has to be my favorite one

Great content. Learned something. Thank you

Man these videos keep getting better. Thanks!!

Wonderful video, as always. Thank you so much for all the hard work and dedication!

Awesome times at launch pad 39a. Glad I got to relive this through your video. Happy New Year everyone.

Great video like always, lots of memories.

I love the new opening titles. Excellent video, btw.

It always makes me so happy when there's a new video! 🤓 And again so much new information! Thank you so much!!!! 🤯

Best video I've EVER seen on Pads 39 A and B! I learned a lot! Many thanks!

Fantastic production as always, thank you Paul/Curious Droid

This may well be the most interesting and value packed video I’ve ever watched on KZfaq

What a fantastic way to end the year! Thank you for all your efforts.

Great video. You covered a lot of items I've always wondered about.