Take a Walk Down History at KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida houses the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the largest single-story building in the world. This iconic structure was originally constructed as a platform for the vertical assembly of the Apollo–Saturn V space vehicles. Thereafter, it has been used to assemble the parts of many other spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, the Space Launch System and others. It also acts like a rocket garage to store the components of a number of space vehicles. Let’s learn more about this spectacular building that has become symbolic of mankind's voyage into space.

Design & Architecture

The Vehicle Assembly Building designed by the Max O. Urbahn architectural firm is one of the most significant buildings in the world. In 2020, it was honored as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Here are some of its unique architectural and design features:

• The VAB measures 526 feet in height, 716 feet in length and 518 feet in width. It occupies 8 acres and encloses 129,428,000 cubic feet of space. 
• 65,000 cubic yards of concrete were needed for its construction, and 98,590 tons of steel was used for the frame. It has 4,225 steel pilings beneath it that have been secured 164 feet into the bedrock.
• Being situated on the east coast of Florida, the VAB has a very sophisticated protection system against hurricanes and tropical storms. It can withstand wind speeds up to 125 miles per hour. It uses 480V 3-phase power electrical service and has uninterruptible power and generator backup.
• The building has four high bays that are used for stacking the rockets. Each has a door that is 456 feet high and takes about 45 minutes to close fully. There are also eight low bays that are primarily used for storage and preparations before assembly.
• The VAB has five overhead cranes and 136 additional lifting devices. These enable the VAB to be extremely precise when handling and stacking massive weights like the rocket components. A couple of the cranes can carry up to 325 tons.
• Moisture control is a grave matter at the VAB due to its coastal location and sophisticated equipment. For this, it has a massive air circulation system that consists of 125 ventilators on the roof and four large air handlers. In total, 10,000 tons of refrigeration (120,000,000 BTU/hr, 35 MW) occurs, which helps control moisture.
• The facility has one of the largest American flags painted on its side, which measures 209 feet in length and 110 feet in width. There is also a 12,300-square-foot NASA logo beside it.