Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 39 (Apollo) Pedestal

LC-39 LUT Launch Umbilical Tower Milkstool

Mission Profile

The LC-39 Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) Milkstool Pedestal is the specially designed steel adapter structure used at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 to raise the Saturn IB rocket — which is shorter than the Saturn V — to the correct height for connection to the standard 120-meter Launch Umbilical Tower originally built for the taller Saturn V. The Saturn IB, used for Skylab crew rotation and Apollo-Soyuz missions, stood about 43 meters shorter than Saturn V, requiring the conical pedestal (nicknamed the milkstool for its resemblance to the farm implement) so that the Saturn IB's umbilical connections would align with the fixed LUT swing arms. The milkstool was used for all Saturn IB launches from LC-39B from 1975 to 1975 and represents an elegant infrastructure improvisation that avoided the cost of building a dedicated pad for the Saturn IB.