Space Station Processing Facility Facts for Kids

Inside the SSPF, with many engineers and technicians manufacturing ISS parts

The Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) is a huge factory building. It's located at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Think of it as NASA's special workshop for building things that go into space!

This amazing building was finished in 1994. Its first big job was to create parts for the International Space Station (ISS). Workers here would build the parts and then test them carefully. This made sure everything was perfect before launch.

Today, the SSPF is still super busy. It's where NASA makes and gets ready all kinds of future space station parts. This includes pieces for the Lunar Gateway, which will orbit the Moon. It also processes special ships that carry supplies to the International Space Station.

The SSPF is a massive building. It covers an area of 42,000 square meters, which is about the size of six football fields! It stands four stories tall. Inside, you'll find two enormous "cleanrooms." These are super clean areas where sensitive space parts are built. The building also has a big room for meetings and events. There are offices for scientists and engineers, and even a place to eat. Visitors can take free tours to see many parts of this incredible factory.

Images for kids

The Space Station Processing Facility under construction in December 1991. Structural steel beams, and the Neil Armstrong Building are visible in the background.
Technicians checking out and testing the ISS RapidScat antenna dish in the low bay area
STS-133 MPLM in its workstand, while visitors observe the area from the observation windows
The I-bay area
S3-S4 Truss being hoist to the payload transfer container
A panorama view of the high bay area in August 2010. Note the lights sometimes tend to change color from pink to gold hues
Engineers and students make and prep a LunaH-Map cubesat for Artemis 1 in the SSPF, July 2021
Main ballroom of the SSPF, typically used for NASA lectures and sometimes special dinner events
The exterior of the SSPF viewed from NASA Parkway
Aerial view of the SSPF in 1995
International Space Station modules being manufactured in the SSPF main workshop area
The main entrance to the facility
A ground level overview of the SSPF high bay and iconic observation windows
An MPLM being hoisted by overhead cranes
Columbus being moved to a weighing stand before loading in transfer container
The JEM being hoisted to a manufacturing workstand
European Space Agency Columbus Module
The main Kibo module in its manufacturing workstand, c. 2003
Kibo JLP module transfer to the payload transfer container
Tranquility in the SSPF.
A worker assembles parts for the Japanese Experimet Module remote manipulator arm, under gold light
NASA and Lockheed Martin employees group photo with the Lunar Gateway module training mock-up inside the SSPF
Inside the Lunar Gateway mock-up module, with four astronauts.
Loading yard
Orbital ATK Cygnus CRS-0A-7
ISS Cargo bags
SSPF lobby
Overview of the high bay factory floor filled with space station modules
A view of an empty workstand from the high bay observation windows
The main visitor entrance lobby to the SSPF in September 2019. Note the signage displays 'International' in addition to the building's name, but is not official.
The Bishop Airlock Module being made by Nanoracks in the high bay, October 7, 2020.
7th National Space Council meeting in the high bay, with temporary desk platforms, Feb 21, 2018
Scientists and students working on SpaceX CRS-21 returned science experiments in the SSPF lab workshop, January 2021
ISS roll out solar array being made in the SSPF high bay, 2 April 2021

Space Station Processing Facility facts for kids

Images for kids

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