The John F. Kennedy Space Center is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and even own facilities on each other's property.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing.
Cape CanaveralAir Force Station Launch Complex 34 (LC-34) is a launch site on Cape Canaveral, Florida. LC-34 and its companion LC-37 to the north were used by NASA from 1961 through 1968 to launch Saturn I and IB rockets as part of the Apollo program. It was the site of the Apollo 1 fire, which claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37), previously Launch Complex 37 (LC-37), is a launch complex on Cape Canaveral, Florida. Construction began in 1959 and the site was accepted by NASA to support the Saturn I program in 1963. The complex consists of two launch pads. LC-37A has never been used, but LC-37B launched uncrewed Saturn I flights and was modified and launched Saturn IB flights, including the first (uncrewed) test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space. It was deactivated in 1972. In 2001 it was modified as the launch site for Delta IV, a launch system operated by United Launch Alliance.
Launch Complex 5 (LC-5) was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida used for various Redstone and Jupiter launches.
Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)—formerly known as Space Launch Complex 36 (SLC-36) from 1997 to 2010—is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Brevard County, Florida. It was used for Atlas launches by NASA and the US Air Force from 1962 until 2005.
Launch Complex 26 (LC-26) is a deactivated launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. LC-26 consisted of two pads, A and B. Pad A was used for the Jupiter-C and Juno I rockets, and was the launch site for Explorer 1, the United States' first satellite, in 1958. Pad B was used for Juno II. Jupiter IRBMs were launched from both pads.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad for rockets located at the north end of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Space Launch Complex 20 (SLC-20), previously designated Launch Complex 20 (LC-20), is a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. SLC-20 is located at the northern terminus of ICBM Road, between Space Launch Complex 19 and Space Launch Complex 34.
The Air Force Space and Missile Museum is located at Launch Complex 26 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. It includes artifacts from the early American space program and includes an outdoor rocket garden displaying rockets, missiles and space-related equipment chronicling the US Air Force.
Launch Complex 43 (LC-43) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida was a launch complex used by American sounding rockets between 1962 and 1984. It supported 2,038 sounding rocket launches. In 1984, sounding rocket launches moved to LC-47, and LC-43 was demolished to make way for Launch Complex 46, which was built near the site.
Launch Complex 6 (LC-6) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida is a launch site used by Redstone and Jupiter series rockets and missiles. It is on the south end of Cape Canaveral, close to Launch Complex 5, with which it shared a blockhouse. With LC-5, it was the location of the first tests of the mobile launch concept designed by Kurt H. Debus. This concept was revised and improved and eventually used at LC-39 for the Saturn V and Space Shuttle.
Launch Complex 10 (LC-10) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida was a launch pad used by SM-64 Navaho missiles, and later Jason sounding rockets and the Alpha Draco research missile. It was located north of Launch Complex 17, where Launch Complexes 31 and 32 are now located. The pad consisted of a small concrete launch structure with an elevated launch pedestal and built-in flame trench, centered on a small oval-shaped concrete pad.
Launch Complex 11 (LC-11) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, is a launch complex used by Atlas missiles between 1958 and 1964. It is the southernmost of the launch pads known as Missile Row. When it was built, it, along with complexes 12, 13 and 14, featured a more robust design than many contemporary pads, due to the greater power of the Atlas compared to other rockets of the time. It was larger, and featured a concrete launch pedestal that was 6 metres (20 ft) tall and a reinforced blockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.
Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the third-most southerly of the original launch complexes known as Missile Row, lying between LC-12 and LC-14. The LC-13 site is currently leased by SpaceX and has been renovated for use as Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, their east coast landing location for returning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicle booster stages.
The Spaceport Florida Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station operated under license by Space Florida for Athena rocket launches.
Launch Complex 18 (LC-18) is a launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida that was active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was used by Viking, Vanguard, Thor and Scout rockets. The complex consists of two launch pads, LC-18A, which was originally built by the US Navy for the Vanguard rocket, and LC-18B, which was originally by the US Air Force used for tests of the PGM-17 Thor missile.
Launch Complex 22 (LC-22) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida is a launch complex that was used for horizontal launches of cruise missiles between 1957 and 1960. It consisted of two launch rails, from which XSM-73 Bull Goose and MGM-13 Mace missiles were tested. Unlike the other Mace launch site, Launch Complex 21, no concrete structure was built to enclose the launch rails when it was converted to launch the Mace in 1959. This earned the pad the nickname of "the softsite".
Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, also known as LZ-1 and LZ-2 respectively, are landing facilities for recovering components of SpaceX's VTVL reusable launch vehicles. LZ-1 and LZ-2 were built on land leased in February 2015 from the United States Air Force, on the site of the former Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13. SpaceX built Landing Zone 2 at the facility to have a second landing pad, allowing two Falcon Heavy boosters to land simultaneously.
The private aerospace company Blue Origin has a number of development, manufacturing, and test facilities in four US states: Washington, Texas, Florida, and Alabama.
