Nichols Martin
SpaceX is modifying the Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A to launch crews of the Dragon 2 spacecraft, NASA Spaceflight reported Thursday.
The company had signed a 20-year agreement with NASA and Space Florida, the state’s economic development agency, to lease the pad to launch Falcon 9 rockets and the Falcon Heavy. The Falcon 9 rockets will lift the Dragon 2 spacecraft from Pad 39A during launch sequences.
An effort to remove Space Shuttle ground support equipment from the launchpad, as well as to add modifications that would facilitate crew access, is underway, the report noted.
Pad 39A served as launching ground for the Apollo and shuttle programs, and was most recently used in 2011 with the Shuttle Atlantis spacecraft for the STS-135 mission.
