What do you think they should do with the bunker now? - Shoutout to CuriosityStream for supporting this video, check them out here: sponsr.is/cs_primalspace

Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room, a rubber room, a rubber room with rats, and rats make me crazy.

Imagine having a completely off limits water slide in your workplace. Truly heartbreaking.

The scale of the Apollo mission was so insane. They built a one of a kind bunker that by itself would be a major project, for just a small chance of saving a few people in the unlikely scenario of an explosion where they have enough time to slide down a chute, but not enough to just drive away.

Coolest thing about that room that I learned is you can actually burn something to create oxygen instead of usually how burning things produce smoke and bad stuff.

The rubber room was not closed or inaccessible for years. There is both electrical and other reasons it needed to be opened from time to time for access related to pad maintenance. It was considered a confined space area and was kept locked up and had to be checked for appropriate O2 levels before entry. Once opened, it was not unusual to invite newer employees, with Pad Safety's blessing, to go see the room but then after whatever work was complete, Pad Safety would close the area back up. Ex Pad Elec Engineer.

the engineering lengths they went to to protect the crew any way they could is impressive

My father tested this room and the breathing apparatus after it was built. It was shown and described in Life magazine. Sadly he passed away last week.

NASA could add the Rubber Room Bunker as a "Special Tour" for visitors to KSC. NASA could also transition this facility into a Simulation Facility to study the effects of isolation for long duration space missions to MARS and beyond!🙂

This is the first time I ever heard of this bunker. Kudos to you for bringing it to the world. Should definitely be part of a historic tour.

Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room, the rubber room, the rubber room for rocket explosions, and rocket explosions make me crazy.

Imagine being locked in a rubber room like this, crazy. Crazy?!

that slide looked like a lot of fun minus the potential of crashing into the wall at the end

I can't imagine a scenario where the crew found out an explosion was imminent, yet still had time to get to that room and close the blast door. Seems like a fortune spent on a one-in-a-million failure mode.

This was used for the shuttle program, and all shuttle crew were trained how to use it, as well as the cable car escape system located on the backside of the same level as the Orbiter Access Arm. We never referred to it as the bunker, however. It was called the round room. There was no slide between the Mobile Launch Platform and the hatched opening on the deck for the Orbiter program. One would have to run to it, open the hatch and jump in, the last in shutting and latching the door behind. During conversion of the pads (LC39A & B) from Saturns to Orbiters, the whole escape system was accessible to anyone who could get on the pad and knew about it. It was a long walk/jog down that tunnel, but it was well lit with caged bulbs in the ceiling about every 50’. I was an engineer on LC39B (B pad) during its final phase of refit, working with Sauer, the prime; then the TTV phase, working with BSI, the prime; then went over to LSOC (after the turnover ceremony that was heavily influenced by wild pigs). Our first launch was Challenger. The top of the slide had a hinged and latched hatch then. It may have been decided as part of the Challenger investigation to later weld a plate over it and rely solely on the cable slides. The Challenger crew did practice opening the hatch and sliding down into the rubber room, with several practicing closing the hatch behind. They also practiced sliding the cars down the cables to get an idea of how they worked and how the drag chains slowed them down at the bottom, getting out of the cars, and running to the end of the tunnel, then running up inside the tunnel to the round room and strapping in. None of it seemed very practical, but it was one of many contingency plans. During a launch, nobody but the flight crew was within three miles of the pad. Launch control had to mitigate problems remotely, shutting fuel valves, disconnecting electrical circuts, moving arms and umbilical units, etc. The crew was on their own, and not every abort scenario involved an unforeseen explosion, so NASA did what it could to provide the crew with exit strategies. When compared to the Orbiter's barber pole escape plan, this one seems pretty reasonable.

Given how poorly rubber holds up over the years, this is more likely now known as the "Goo Room".

This. Would be a great addition to a tour of the launchpad. So much history that would be lost forever

I think the bunker would be a really cool part of the expanded tours they offer at KSC. If there's no SpaceX launch, the tours I think would be worth the extra price for the special experience

The minds behind this bunker were incredible, and it’s wild to see the lengths they went through to protect the crew under different circumstances

Nasa should turn it into a museum of space history

From the thumbnail I thought it was one of those fair rides that spin you around and the “seats” move up and down

Imagine barely escaping a catastrophe including rocket fuel, entering a confined space with limited oxygen supply, and the first thing on your mind is that you have to take a smoke. (6:07) Those were the days.

I love hearing about all the lesser-known preparations NASA made for the Apollo program. It really does put in perspective how big an achievement it was. Even if they never open up areas like this to the public, I'd love for them to do some video tours.

Thank you for sharing this information. It's hard to believe that the early space programs of Gemini and Apollo took place more than 60 years ago and we are still learning new and interesting facts about the design and engineering implemented to complete their goals. I can't imagine the myriad of problems that had to be solved in only a handful of years. I believe a lot of the programs success is due to having outstanding leadership at all phases and genius engineers. I watched a recent video about the engineering of the first stage of an Apollo rocket explained by a NASA engineer that worked on both Gemini and Apollo. He gave very detailed explanations on the systems, how they were designed, the problems that had to be solved, as well as how each problem was tackled from an engineering perspective. The creativity and variety of bold ideas these folks came up with is truly staggering.

Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a room-

I really think more people should know about this and become less fixated on reckless approaches for missions like Oceangate. This is a very good example that even on missions where the site would be abandoned after the mission, building precautions like this is necessary and the right thing to do.

If they could slightly improve the safety for the slide, it'd be amazing to preserve the bunker as an exhibit/museum while allowing the slide to be in use as well.

Starting with Artemis II, if an emergency occurs that necessitates an evacuation of the pad, everyone would use the slide wire baskets on the west side of the spacecraft and then either wait in a bunker or climb aboard armored personal carriers and crash the perimeter fence to get to safety.

Elon Musk thought this was a waste of money. He just gave everyone a blindfold.

"The bunker was never used" I imagine a problem that's catastrophic enough to explode the entire rocket, but safe enough in that anyone had enough time to actually get in the bunker, would be extremely rare.

One of the more better restricted room stories I’ve seen since there is actually a unique reason to keep it restricted due to its depth and possible usage rather than the usual spy or trade secrets that causes a room to be restricted.

Fascinating video, very well made. Thanks! I remember Mike Collins referring to this in “Carrying the Fire.” He made it sound pretty harebrained, but after seeing this video I think that might have been more fighter pilot talk than anything else - in my experience working with fighter pilots they make fatalistic jokes about things outside their control. I probably would too.

Makes me wonder was that where the apollo crews went after being shown entering the Capsule and the camera's then turned off? Only to find the recreated Capsule near the rubber room !! I'm on the fence re the real missions, but this slippery slide at the launch pad may say a lot more as which way I'm falling.

NASA should open this up for a tourist attraction!!!

Great video! This would make for one hell of an escape room experience.

As a mechanical engineer I very much appreciate this video. I grew up during the 70s and 80s and was a space nutt. I never knew or heard of the rubber room. Just when I thought I'd learned everything about NASA and the space programs between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Awsome presentation

I would love to go through the whole thing. From down the slide to the long dark walk. Just getting a chance to see the history our world at that time was doing is just super amazing. I don’t think enough people understand or appreciate what all was done back then.

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NASA could probably recreate the bunker at KSC’s visitor complex and recreate the slide as well (or make a smaller one). They could recreate the experience of sliding down to escape the launchpad area and allow visitors to discover the “life inside the bunker” which could be awesome as it would mix the fun aspect and the historical safety aspect of LC39A and Apollo missions.

It would be cool to turn it in to a NASA time capsule of sorts. The room is built to survive an intense environment, and could be converted to an awesome time capsule.

How do you find about all these stories? I always end up satisfied when your videos come up in my recommendations.

These oxygen candles are an ingenious invention. The same type of candles (altough constructed differently) are also used on submarines.

Fascinating to see Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan during what was obviously a practice session down in the hole. When we did the Pad 39 tour in 2013 (we were able to get into the flame pit because the pad was being refurbed for Space-X or the competitor), the "survival room" was mentioned. The KSC guide mentioned the expectation that the pad might take two weeks (14 days) to cool down after a fully-fuelled Saturn-V blew up on the pad. We also have the evidence of what DID happen in the Soviet Union at Baikonur Cosmodrome, when one of their N-1 competitors to the Saturn-V did actually blow up on the pad.

I'm actually surprised they haven't made a tour of this. Not the slide of course, but taking everyone through the both escape routes, this would be a bit claustrophobic, but seeing how far down NASA had to prepare...just in case, is amazing and something i would pay to see.

I think this was used during the Shuttle area to. I remember one of the crew talking about it.

This should DEFINITELY become a museum. Children AND adults would love to use that slide. The educational experience would just be a bonus.

I’ve never heard of this bunker existing before your video- very cool! I’d love to see it recreated at the Air & Space Museum in DC.

I think they should do a memorial of all the Apollo missions, and open it as a museum that people would learn what sacrifices they made, especially Apollo 1. Great video as always 👍

I think they should make some modifications to enable longer stays, then rent it out to groups. Have staff available, nicer bathroom facilities, and make some money on it.

I like the smiles of the engineers faces after testing the slide. It must have been really fun using it. (Unless there was actually an emergency going on)

Wow, the ingenuity for that bunker is incredible! I'd be worried that its disrepair would pose danger to anyone going in, and its age doesn't make renovation much worth the cost, so probably worth leaving it alone. But a (less catastrophically-prepared) replica would be awesome to experience at a museum!

Such a neat piece of history. I think they should continue to leave it alone.. it’s a wonderful time capsule.

Incredible video and channel. Glad I found you.

I never realized the launch pad was so intricate and had so many rooms/features

Thank you for sharing this - this was really cool to learn about! Above just the obvious "it should be a museum tour", walking through the tunnels with former Astronauts as a part of NASA's Meet The Astronaut lunches would be awesome!

The rubber room should be fully restored & maintained as a tourist attraction. I don't know why they allowed it to undergo such deterioration in the first place. It's a very unique monument to the space program & 20th century technology.

Amazing anticipation. Fantastic work.

Outstanding video. I’m a NASA engineer and I’m constantly impressed by the great material that your channel creates.

Would love to see a video about the emergency procedures that are in place now. I had no clue this existed until this video. Very cool.

Excavate the room along with the slide but minus the tunnels, bring the room back up to code and place it on display in a museum. Build a more modernized version of the slide/room in its place.

that slide would make a hell of a amusment ride

They should consider renovating it, especially at LC-39a when Starship is expected to be flying several missions a day. One day there a problem while tanking will occur. Having a blast-proof room for dozens of astronauts and crew will be needed then.

It's a strange feeling to realize something like this exists, and then learn everything about it within 5 minutes... and then think of how long this took to plan and build. I also want to chat with the slide tester. There must be a slide tester, unless its just a bag of extra potatoes Matt Damon grew years ago in the future.

This level of safety precautions and ingenuity by NASA always amazed me.They really though out all solutions for various cases and possibilities.

Crazy? I was crazy once, they locked me in a room, a rubber room, a rubber room with rats and rats make me crazy.

the amount of dedication this channel has to make us these detailed videos is unimaginable, ty for all the videos :D

Thing is, the launch pad is so big, how does the crew make it to the slide in time when an explosion happens? Or how do they know there's a looming threat of an explosion?

THATS CRAZY

I'd love to see this bunker uploaded to VR chat with this video in the background. Would be greatly educational

While performing contract training there I was lucky enough to be taken for a tour of this “bounce house”. It was really interesting since they had made some changes to the slide when they began launching the Space Shuttles. Shortly after they installed the baskets that on the high levels were released and zip lined to a safe distance fro: the pad.

Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with rats. And rats make me crazy.

That slide would be sick!

Now I'm just making a guesstimate here but I'm assuming but the time you climb down however many flights of stairs it took for wherever you were on the launch assembly. To reach level a, that would probably have taken I would assume a couple minutes. And then all right the slide that's probably pretty quick. But then again we still have that problem of people breaking bones when they hit the bottom of it as you stated in the video. And then you have that blast door. Now I'm assuming that would be open. So how much time do they expect the maintenance people and crew to have from the time they detected something was wrong to the time they could get into this bunker and close that blast door. That includes carrying anyone that was injured coming down the slide into the blast Dome it seems to me that to get 20 people evacuated down the slide into the bunker assuming no one was hurt and close the door probably would have taken I would say at least 5 minutes maybe 10 minutes. If we're looking at a hydrogen leak unless they just decided all right we're not going to try to stop it we're just going to evacuate and let it do whatever it's going to do. You have no idea how much time you're going to actually have from anywhere from a few seconds to what could be hours or even days until the system was empty of liquid hydrogen. I'm wondering if this bunker was just a case of let's give them something are the safety precaution. Knowing full well that there's no way they would probably be able to reach it. There was a similar evacuation plan used at the Kingsbury ammunition plant in indiana. Where the front of all of the rooms with a processed explosives was made of glass to the explosion would blow out the glass and not damage the walls. At the back of every room was a full size door opening that had some rubber flaps hanging over it and you went into it feet first by jumping and grabbing a rail mounted on the wall so you could swing yourself into the slide. That would take you into the slide which went approximately 250 ft away from the building before you were rejected out into a pit. And then the procedure from there was to get to your feet and run as fast as possible away from the building. After speaking with several people that worked in that plant when it was an operation they said that although they practiced using the slides and evacuating the buildings should there have been an actual detonation of any of the explosives you would not have had time to even get to the slide let alone run away. The only time this might have been useful as if a small fire had started and for whatever reason no one used one of the multiple fire extinguishing methods that were in each of the assembly and compounding areas.

If NASA doesn't do anything (which I would kind of expect, unless some huge movement happens), they should at least 3d scan/360 video the room, allowing us to view it! It being a museum piece would be quite cool, however, being that it is underneath a still active launch pad, I can see where that would be a problem.

My grandfather was a launch pad safety engineer for Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo. He had numerous rockets blow up overhead on him while hunkered down in bunkers. Not this one of course. Bet he snuck a ride down it at some point off the books though. Who wouldn’t?

The emergency would be horrifying, but escaping it would be the best time of your life!

This is fascinating!

where are the rats

A rubber room. A rubber room with rats.

set it up like an interactive ride at disney. Let people experience the slide and a seat in the bunker. They could even rig up explosives to give people a smaller shock effect

Minor bit of trivia: The K-ration was developed with the help of Herb King who passed away September 25, 2001 in San Diego County. The K in K-ration stood for his surname King.

As someone who worked on numerous launchpads, it’s very interesting the forms of escape the various companies implemented. My favorite is located at a site that was designated and build for shuttle launches out in California. The skeletal tower that the rock is “attached “ to featured three huge zip lines for the astronauts to escape on. They would hop into these carriages that would zip down and away from the pad where they would stop and allow the astronauts to get out and run for an underground bunker for protection. I wish the zip lines were functional during my time there, but the bunker still existed.

Remembering that Thunderbirds had a slide as a launch support system! Never knew about this! Thanks for presenting it! 👍

Assuming perfect combustion of all the fuel it would still only be equivelant to around 7-8 kilotons of TNT. Just in range but less than the max yeild of the smallest nuke W54. Nukes are crazy powerful.

Wow, that's crazy.

It is so remarkable that they went to such lengths to give the people involved a chance at survival in case of a catastrophic event that may never come to pass wich thankfully it didn't but still. They could've just told them to live with the risk but they didn't.

Older rocket science is like a crazy

Where can you buy oxygen emitting candles?

They should re-open the Rubber Room, update it to match our current tech and modernization, reinforce it along side new escape route options and put it back into service.

This is awesome! Stuff like this is what the current private space companies miss

Saturn 5 had to be partially fueled at least when vertical because the fuel pressure maintains its structural integrity.

I think they should keep photos of the rubber room and corridors to remind the pride NASA has always tried to care for life.

It's like a forbidden piece of information. Great animations and amazing video btw. I feel nasa should put it to public display sometimes and maintain it for future emergencies too. Thank you for the video

I think it would be really cool to open it for tours or a space camp for children. Make the slide operational and safe and have some interactive activities inside the bunker.

A room? A Rubber room. A rubber room with rubber rats.

Turn it into a Disney Ride complete with a simulated BLAST at the end.

Learning about the planning and engineering behind the video makes me appreciate human ingenuity. The animation for this was out of the world (pun intended) ❤

Would they really have been able to detect an imminent explosion with enough time for the entire crew to get to the bunker? I would think if there was going to be catastrophic failure, it would happen without warning.

I worked on pad 39A from Oct 68 to June 69 and entered the blast room. The large over size chairs were wrapped with thick memory foam. Nothing like what is depicted in this video

Fascinating, thank you