Operations and Checkout Building | |
 Aerial view of the Operations and Checkout building at KSC, c. 2017 | |
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| Location | Brevard County, Florida,USA |
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| Nearest city | Titusville, Florida |
| Coordinates | 28°31′26″N80°38′46″W / 28.52389°N 80.64611°W /28.52389; -80.64611 |
| Built | 1964 |
| Architect | Charles Luckman |
| Architectural style | International |
| Visitation | Open, requires sponsorship by NASA employee |
| MPS | John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 99001636[1] |
| Added to NRHP | January 21, 2000 |
TheNeil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C)[2] (previously known as theManned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic building onMerritt Island, Florida, United States. The five-story structure is in the Industrial Area ofNASA'sKennedy Space Center. It has twin-block facilities that include the crew quarter dormitories forastronauts, suit-up preparations prior to their flights, and the other is a large spacecraft workshop used for manufacturing and checking activities on crewed spacecraft. On January 21, 2000, it was added to the U.S.National Register of Historic Places.
During planning and construction, it was known as the Operations and Checkout Building. When it was finished in 1964, it was renamed the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building and was used to process spacecraft in theGemini andApollo era. It was reverted back to the Operations and Checkout Building during the Shuttle program, known informally as the O&C.
In 1965, a pair ofaltitude chambers were installed in the High Bay for testing the environmental and life support systems of both theApollo Command/Service Module andLunar Module at simulated altitudes of up to 250,000 feet (76 km). Each chamber is 58 feet (18 m) high (with a clear working height of 28 feet (8.5 m)) and an interior diameter of 33 feet (10 m),[3] were human-rated, and capable of reaching the maximum altitude (minimum pressure) in one hour. These were used by the prime and backup crews of all crewed missions, from the ill-fatedApollo 1 in October 1966, through to theApollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975.[4]
During the 1980s and 90s the O&C building was used to house and testSpacelab science modules before their flights aboard theSpace Shuttle.
In the late 1990s and 2000s, some modules and trusses for theInternational Space Station werechecked out in the building.
On January 30, 2007, NASA held a ceremony to mark the transition of the building's high bay for use by theConstellation program. The building would serve as the final assembly facility for theOrion crew exploration vehicle.[5] In preparation for the transition, the state of Florida provided funds to clear the facility of about 50 short tons (45 metric tons) of steel stands, structures and equipment.[6] Renovations totaling $55 million took place from June 2007 through January 2009,[7] at which pointLockheed Martin became the operator of the facility forOrion production.[8] The Orion spacecraft forArtemis 1 completed its assembly in this location and was moved to theMulti-Payload Processing Facility on January 16, 2021.[9] The Orion spacecraft forArtemis 2 is under final testing in the building as of July, 2024.[10][11]
The building was renamed to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in a ceremony on the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11 (2014).[12]
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