Apollo "White Room" - Guenter Wendt Signature
Kansas Cosmosphere
You are now standing in one of the actual Apollo White Rooms, removed from Launch Pad-Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It was here- suspended more than 320 feet above the ground- that many historic and dramatic moments unfolded as astronaut crews prepared to be inserted into their Apollo spacecraft for launch. In this small, historic room, the "butterflies" were felt and final "goodbyes were made. For many, it was a room where reality set in as to what they were about to do, and the risk they were about to take.
The White Room was attached to a 60-foot long, cantilevered "swing arm" which was connected to the rocket gantry. About four hours before liftoff, the astronaut crews would walk across the swing arm and enter the White Room. The structure of the room partially wrapped around the entry hatch area of the spacecraft and sealed out the elements. After the astronauts were inserted into the Command Module, the main hatch was shut and locked. Just prior to launch, the White Room swung away from the spacecraft. The astronauts were now alone, sitting atop a 36-story skyscraper of a rocket with the explosive power of an atomic bomb.
This specific White Room was one of three used during the Apollo lunar program, and was later recycled for use during the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. Historical records no longer exist to indicate which specific astronaut crews said their "goodbyes" in this White Room, but it is likely that at least a third of the 14 Apollo crews that departed from Launch Pad-Complex 39 began their journey here, and stood exactly where you are standing now. Only one other Apollo White Room from Pad 39 still exists, and it is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center, Florida.
Apollo "White Room" - Guenter Wendt Signature
Kansas Cosmosphere
You are now standing in one of the actual Apollo White Rooms, removed from Launch Pad-Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It was here- suspended more than 320 feet above the ground- that many historic and dramatic moments unfolded as astronaut crews prepared to be inserted into their Apollo spacecraft for launch. In this small, historic room, the "butterflies" were felt and final "goodbyes were made. For many, it was a room where reality set in as to what they were about to do, and the risk they were about to take.
The White Room was attached to a 60-foot long, cantilevered "swing arm" which was connected to the rocket gantry. About four hours before liftoff, the astronaut crews would walk across the swing arm and enter the White Room. The structure of the room partially wrapped around the entry hatch area of the spacecraft and sealed out the elements. After the astronauts were inserted into the Command Module, the main hatch was shut and locked. Just prior to launch, the White Room swung away from the spacecraft. The astronauts were now alone, sitting atop a 36-story skyscraper of a rocket with the explosive power of an atomic bomb.
This specific White Room was one of three used during the Apollo lunar program, and was later recycled for use during the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. Historical records no longer exist to indicate which specific astronaut crews said their "goodbyes" in this White Room, but it is likely that at least a third of the 14 Apollo crews that departed from Launch Pad-Complex 39 began their journey here, and stood exactly where you are standing now. Only one other Apollo White Room from Pad 39 still exists, and it is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center, Florida.