Gateway to the Moon: Building the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex

The Gateway to the Moon is not a guide to the NASA Kennedy Space Center as such but describes the early history of America's manned space programme.

Format: Paperback     
Page: 352 pages
Publisher: University Press of Florida, 1st edition 
Date: February 12, 2001 
ISBN:0813020913
Size: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches

The Gateway to the Moon book was written by Charles D. Benson and William B. Faherty and published by University Press of Florida in January 2003 and is a reprint of the first half of the original Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations.

It is the definitive history of the origins, design, and construction of the lunar launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center; where mankind made the first trips to the moon.

The book concentrates on the early days including the construction of the launch complexes 39A and 39B, the gigantic launch pads from which the Apollo/Saturn rockets blasted off and still used today to launch the space shuttles, and the enormous eight-acre Vertical Assembly Building (renamed the Vehicle Assembly Building) and the attached Launch Control Center; some of the most awesome buildings ever constructed.

It is based on extensive interviews with those directly involved in the Apollo missions and contains pictures and diagrams of the locations, personnel and equipment used in the Apollo programme. It also discusses the problems and issues between the NASA engineers and the government.

Note that most guide books are re-published annually so you can often pick up a bargain if you don't mind last year's edition.