KSC-2013-2469

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers have removed nearly all of the crawler track panels on the pad’s surface. Workers also are removing the flame trench deflector that sits below and between the left and right crawler track panels. The concrete surface beneath the panels and the catacomb roof below will be inspected for water damage and repaired. There are 176 panels, each weighing about 30,000 pounds that will be removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http:__go.nasa.gov_groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossman