For centuries, ships have set sail from ports that bordered the sea. Today, launch sites around the world serve as the point of departure for rockets about to be launched into space. The United States possesses a number of launch sites, located primarily on the East and West Coasts. Perhaps the most widely recognized is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC), which is situated on a strip of land off the coast of Florida. The major launch sites at KSC are Launch Complex 39's Pad A and Pad B, which were originally built to support Apollo missions, but have been modified for the space shuttle. Pads 39A and 39B are virtually identical and roughly octagonal in shape.

The Kennedy Space Center is dotted with a number of supporting launch facilities. Between missions the shuttle orbiter is refurbished in the Orbiter Processing...