NASA prepares to close Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

The entrance to the "Rubber Room" under Launch Complex 39A opens thirty two years to the day since NASA launched Space Shuttle Columbia on its maiden voyage, the space agency is making final preparations to close down the pad at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on April 12, 2013. The room would have kept Apollo era astronauts and technicians safe from hazards on the pad during launch operations. NASA hopes that commercial companies, like SpaceX could find some use for the complex in the future. The pad was built in the 1960s and was opened to support the Apollo flights to the moon as well as the Space Shuttle program. .UPI/Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell