Demolition: Clearing the Way for Future Flight

摘要

Unused federal and military structures and facilities are costly to maintain. In many cases, demolition or deconstruc-tion can prove highly effective and reduce operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. The demolition program of Kennedy Space Center in Florida is an excellent model for successful facility management, energy efficiency, and material recycling/reuse. Kennedy Space Center, which has served as the processing and launch center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for more than five decades, is undergoing major infrastructure changes with the end of the Shuttle Program and the start of several new space exploration initiatives. Kennedy is demolishing unused and unnecessary facilities and structures to make way for the new programs. Over the past 12 years, NASA has demolished or deconstructed, and designed the demolition of, over 375 buildings and structures, encompassing more than 2.0-million-ft~2, including Kennedy's iconic Mate/ Demate Device, which was used to attach the Space Shuttle to a jet for air transport or to detach it for processing.