NASA Downplays Launch Pad Damage Caused by SLS Rocket - Gizmodo

Mobile Launcher 1 and Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center will require repairs, but NASA says they’ll be ready for the next Artemis mission.

Photojournalists at Kennedy Space Center have been told to not take photos of Launch Complex 39B for security reasons (i.e., ITAR restrictions; NASA says photos of the now-exposed umbilical plates would represent a security violation), and possibly because NASA doesn’t want to promote the fact that its launch tower was damaged.

During a press briefing on Friday, Sarafin admitted that the mobile launch tower did incur some damage as a result of the launch, which produced temperatures in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“We expected to find damage at the pad, and we are finding damage at the pad,” Sarafin said.

Opinions posted to Twitter varied, with some saying the damage is much worse than NASA is willing to admit, with others saying the damage isn’t a big deal and it’s all part of the engineering process.