Launch Complex 39 Press Site, Press center at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, US
Launch Complex 39 Press Site is a media facility on the grounds of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, built to support journalists and broadcast crews covering space launches. It offers workspace, conference rooms, and the technical setup needed for live reporting during launch operations.
The site has been the base for covering every crewed American space launch since Apollo 8 in 1968, earning a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the decades it evolved alongside American spaceflight, from the Moon missions through the Space Shuttle era and into the age of commercial launches.
The John Holliman Auditorium hosts press briefings before and after each launch, a gathering point where reporters from around the world work side by side. The room carries a long tradition of live coverage that has shaped how the public follows space missions.
Access to the press site requires valid media credentials or an approved pass, so it is worth arranging all paperwork well in advance of a visit. Arriving early helps you find your bearings on the Kennedy Space Center grounds and settle in before the pace picks up around launch time.
During the Space Shuttle Program, the flag of the specific orbiter flying that day was raised alongside the American flag at the press site on launch mornings. This meant you could tell which shuttle was about to fly simply by looking at the flagpole before the countdown ended.
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