12. Launch Complex 39
Built: 1962 –68Location: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch Complex 39 was built between 1962 and 1968 as part of what is now the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Located at the northern end of Merritt Island, history continues to be made at Launch Complex 39 with each "liftoff" of the nation's space shuttle program. The complex was the site of the memorable launch of Apollo 11 – man's first voyage to the moon. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins embarked on their lunar landing mission at 9:32:0634 a.m. EDT, on July 16, 1969, as Apollo 11 was launched from Mobile Launcher 1, atop the elevated pad at Launch Area A. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the configuration of the Launch complex has remained relatively unchanged, although some modifications were required for the Space Shuttle program.
