Operations and Checkout Building

ISS US lab being manufactured and hoisted to a vacuum test chamber in the O&C

The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C)[1] (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a factory located at Kennedy Space Center.[2]

The building was built in 1964, and made from reinforced concrete and steel.

Its purpose is to make and test out rocket parts such as the Apollo Command/Service Module, Lunar Module, Space Shuttle Spacelab modules, and truss components for the International Space Station. Once manufacturing and check-testing is complete, the spacecraft modules or space stations are checked out of the factory to the SSPF or the Vehicle Assembly Building for integration and launch.

The O&C is actually a two-part building with connected overhead walkways. The front building is where astronauts live in dormitories before launching into space. It also has a few conference rooms, several laboratories, and a restaurant. The rear building is where the spacecraft manufacturing workshop is located.

In 2014, the O&C was named in honor of the first man on the moon: Neil Armstrong.[3]

Operations And Checkout Building Media

References

  1. "NASA Image and Video Library".
  2. "Operations and Checkout Building". science.ksc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  3. "Clipped From Florida Today". Florida Today: A1. 2014-07-22. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35947047/florida-today/. Retrieved 2020-05-13.