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Vertical Assembly Building (VAB)
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One of the largest buildings in the world, the 52-storey, 160-meter (525 ft) tall VAB occupies a ground area of 3.25 hectares (8 acres) and has an internal volume of 3,665,013 cubic meters (129,428,000 cu ft). Designed to withstand winds of 200km/h, it has a foundation that rests on more than 4,225 steel pilings, each 40 cm in diameter that goes to a depth of 49 m through bedrock.
The VAB Bays
The Vertical Assembly Building contains four High Bays (making up the four corner regions of the tall block in the photo) and one Low Bay (the smaller block jutting out back). High Bays 1 and 3 are used for integrating and stacking the complete Space Shuttle vehicle. High Bay 2 is used for External Tank (ET) checkout and storage and as a contingency storage area for orbiters. High Bay 4 is also used for ET checkout and storage, as well as for payload canister operations and Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) contingency handling. The Low Bay area contains Space Shuttle main engine maintenance and overhaul shops, and serves as a holding area for SRB forward assemblies and aft skirts.
Space Shuttle assembly
During Space shuttle build-up operations inside the VAB, integrated SRB segments are transferred from nearby SRB assembly and checkout facilities, hoisted onto a Mobile Launcher Platform in High Bays 1 or 3 and mated together to form two complete SRBs. The External Tank, after arrival by barge, is inspected and checked out in High Bays 2 or 4 and then transferred to High Bay's 1 or 3 to be attached to the SRBs already in place. The orbiter is then towed over from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB transfer aisle, raised to a vertical position, lowered onto the Mobile Launcher Platform and then mated to the rest of the stack. When assembly and checkout is complete, the crawler-transporter enters the High Bay, picks up the platform and assembled shuttle vehicle and carries them to the launch pad.
Related category
• MANNED SPACEFLIGHT
Source: NASA - Kennedy Space Center
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