Launch Complex 39 Press Site
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LC-39 Press Site–Clock and Flag Pole
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The flagpole and countdown clock at dawn before the STS-114 launch in July 2005
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| Location |
Kennedy Space Center Merritt Island, Florida |
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| Nearest city | Titusville, Florida |
| Coordinates | 28°34′56.95″N 80°38′42.39″W / 28.5824861°N 80.6451083°WCoordinates: 28°34′56.95″N 80°38′42.39″W / 28.5824861°N 80.6451083°W |
| Built | 1967 |
| Visitation | not open to the public (n/a) |
| MPS | John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 99001637 |
| Added to NRHP | January 21, 2000 |
The Launch Complex 39 Press Site is a news media facility at Launch Complex 39 at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Merritt Island, Florida where journalists have observed every U.S. manned space launch since Apollo 8 in 1968. The site is just south of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB); 3 miles (4.8 km) west-southwest of Pad A, and 3.4 miles (5.4 km) southwest of Pad B.
The site includes an elevated mound where news media facilities are located, as well as the KSC News Center and several smaller support buildings. The News Center is 8,700 square feet (810 m2) and contains 15 site support offices, media workspace, and a media library. Current media buildings include CBS, NBC, Florida Today and The Orlando Sentinel; and trailers for The Associated Press and Reuters.
The 100-seat auditorium in the audio-video support building, where pre- and post-launch news conferences are held, is named for former CNN correspondent John Holliman, who covered space exploration until his death in 1998. It was built in 1980.
A large illuminated digital countdown clock and a flagpole flying an American flag on the edge of the turning basin have often been included in television coverage and launch photos. Before a launch, the clock counts down, showing the remaining time until T-zero in hours, minutes and seconds (–00:00:00). After launch, the clock counts forward in Mission Elapsed Time for several hours. The flagpole also flew a smaller Space Shuttle Orbiter-specific flag below the American flag on launch day during the final years of the Space Shuttle Program.
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