SLC-40 during launch of SpaceX CRS-13 in December 2017, after repair and upgrade works to the pad between 2016-2017 | |||||||||||
Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | ||||||||||
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Location | 28°33′44″N80°34′38″W / 28.562106°N 80.577180°W Coordinates: 28°33′44″N80°34′38″W / 28.562106°N 80.577180°W | ||||||||||
Short name | SLC-40 | ||||||||||
Operator | United States Air Force | ||||||||||
Total launches | 97 | ||||||||||
Launch pad(s) | 1 | ||||||||||
Min / max orbital inclination | 28°–57° | ||||||||||
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Space Launch Complex 40 [1] [2] (SLC-40), previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad for rockets located at the north end of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The launch pad was used by the United States Air Force for 55 Titan III and Titan IV launches between 1965 and 2005. [3]
After 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket. [4] As of December 2017 [update] , there have been 36 launches of the Falcon 9 from the complex. [5] The site was heavily damaged following the September 2016 Amos-6 incident, [6] due to a catastrophic failure during a static fire test. [7] The complex was repaired and returned to operational status in December 2017 for the CRS-13 mission. [8]
The first launch from SLC-40 (initially named LC-40) was the maiden flight of the Titan IIIC (June 18, 1965), carrying two transtage upper stages to test the functionality of the vehicle.
Two interplanetary missions were launched from the pad:
A total of 26 Titan IIICs, 8 Titan 34Ds, 4 Commercial Titan IIIs and 17 Titan IVs were launched between 1965 and 2005. [3] The final Titan launch from SLC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite carried on a Titan IV-B on April 30, 2005.
The tower was disassembled during late 2007 and early 2008. Demolition of the Mobile Service Structure (MSS), by means of a controlled explosion, occurred on April 27, 2008, by Controlled Demolition, Inc. [9]
On April 25, 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket. [4] During April 2008, construction started on the ground facilities necessary to support the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Renovations included installation of new liquid oxygen and kerosene tanks and construction of a hangar for rocket and payload preparation. The spherical liquid oxygen (LOX) tank was acquired from NASA. This LOX tank was previously used at LC-34.
The first Falcon 9 rocket arrived at SLC-40 in late 2008, and was first erected on January 10, 2009. [10] It successfully reached orbit on its maiden launch on June 4, 2010, carrying a dummy payload qualification unit.
SLC-40 is the launch facility of the SpaceX Dragon, a reusable automated cargo vehicle which is currently being used to provide two-way logistics to and from the International Space Station; a role previously filled by the Space Shuttle until its retirement in 2011. [11] SpaceX successfully launched the first test flight for the Dragon from SLC-40 on December 8, 2010. Its first attempt to launch to and dock with the International Space Station successfully occurred on May 22, 2012, following an abort after engine ignition three days earlier.
SpaceX modified the launch pad in 2013 in order to support launches of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, a 60 % heavier rocket with 60 % more thrust on realigned engines [12] and 60 % longer fuel tank than the v1.0 version of the Falcon 9, requiring a modified transporter/erector. [13] [ needs update ]
On September 1, 2016 a Falcon 9 rocket was destroyed by an explosion that originated around the rocket's second stage while preparing for a routine static fire test on the SLC-40 launch pad. The explosion occurred during loading of liquid oxygen eight minutes prior to igniting the first stage engine as part of the test. [14]
A static fire is a test performed prior to launch to verify that both the launch vehicle and the ground systems are ready for flight. The test is identical to a launch until the moment of liftoff but instead of releasing the vehicle shortly after first stage engine ignition, the engines fire for a few seconds and then shut down. The second stage is fueled to test the interaction with the first stage and ground systems but remains otherwise inactive. After completion of a static fire test, the propellant and oxidizer are unloaded, the launch vehicle is lowered and the launch vehicle is returned to the hangar pending review and analysis of the data from the static fire test. Static fire tests are not common for most rocket launches and most proceed without one. SpaceX performs static fire tests to ensure that ground systems, as well as the launch vehicle, will perform nominally.
The static fire explosion resulted in the total loss of the rocket. The rocket's payload, the Amos-6 satellite, was on-board and was also destroyed. [15] In addition, the explosion resulted in extensive damage to the launch pad. It was reported to have cracked nearby windows and to have been felt up to 40 miles away. There were no personnel on the pad and no injuries from the explosion were reported. [16]
Repairs to and modernization of the launch pad began in early 2017 following completion of accident investigation and environmental cleanup. [17] SLC-40 returned to service with the launch of CRS-13 on 15 December 2017. [18] The pad was reportedly in good condition after the launch. [19] The initial launch of a Falcon Heavy from pad 39A was contingent upon the successful reactivation of pad 40. [20] [21] Resumed launches from pad 40 freed up pad 39A for needed final modifications without affecting the SpaceX launch tempo.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has developed several launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program and later modified for the Space Shuttle program.
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit medium lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX in the United States. It is powered by Merlin engines, also developed by SpaceX, burning cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as propellants. Its name is derived from the Millennium Falcon and the nine engines of the rocket's first stage. The rocket evolved with versions v1.0 (2010–2013), v1.1 (2013–2016), v1.2 "Full Thrust" (2015–present), including the Block 5 Full Thrust variant, flying since May 2018. Unlike most rockets, which are expendable launch systems, since the introduction of the Full Thrust version, Falcon 9 is partially reusable, with the first stage capable of re-entering the atmosphere and landing back vertically after separating from the second stage. This feat was achieved for the first time on flight 20 with the v1.2 version in December 2015.
The SpaceX Dragon is a reusable cargo spacecraft developed by SpaceX, an American private space transportation company. Dragon is launched into orbit by the company's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) is a launch and landing site at Vandenberg Air Force Base with two pads, both of which are used by SpaceX for Falcon 9 launch operations; operating as Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) for SpaceX landings.
The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft manufactured by SpaceX. After using it for ground tests to rate Dragon's shape and mass in various tests, SpaceX launched it into low Earth orbit on the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, on June 4, 2010. SpaceX used the launch to evaluate the aerodynamic conditions on the spacecraft and performance of the carrier rocket in a real-world launch scenario, ahead of Dragon flights for NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. The spacecraft orbited the Earth over 300 times before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 27 June.
SpaceX CRS-1, also known as SpX-1, was the third flight for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX) uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft, the fourth overall flight for the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle, and the first SpaceX operational mission under their Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The launch occurred on 7 October 2012 at 20:34 EDT.
Launch vehicles often undergo system tests before they are used for spaceflight. A wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and a more extensive static fire are tests of a fully integrated space launch vehicle and its associated ground support equipment (GSE) prior to launch. The spacecraft or payload may or may not be attached to the launch vehicle during the WDR or static fire, but sufficient elements of the rocket and all relevant ground support equipment are in place to help verify that the rocket is ready for flight, with the goal of allowing problems to be seen prior to the actual launch.
SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which will be attached to the station for two years of in-orbit viability tests.
As of December 2017, SpaceX uses three leased orbital launch sites: Launch Complex 39A of the Kennedy Space Center, Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, both in Florida, and Space Launch Complex 4E of the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Space Launch Complex 40 was damaged in the Amos-6 accident on September 2016 and repair work was completed by December 2017. SpaceX is also building a commercial-only launch facility at the Boca Chica site near Brownsville, Texas and is expected to be operational no earlier than 2019.
Falcon 9 v1.1 was the second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle. The rocket was developed in 2011–2013, made its maiden launch in September 2013, and its final flight in January 2016. The Falcon 9 rocket was fully designed, manufactured, and operated by SpaceX. Following the second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) launch, the initial version Falcon 9 v1.0 was retired from use and replaced by the v1.1 version.
Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by U.S. aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, intended as the successor to the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and returns via ocean splashdown.
The Falcon 9 first-stage landing tests were a series of controlled-descent flight tests conducted by SpaceX between 2013 and 2016. Since 2017, the first stage of Falcon 9 missions has been routinely landed if the rocket performance allowed it, and if SpaceX chose to recover the stage.
SpaceX CRS-10, also known as SpX-10, was a Dragon Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which launched on 19 February 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA as part of its Commercial Resupply Services program and was launched by SpaceX aboard the 30th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. The mission ended on 19 March 2017 when the Dragon spacecraft left the ISS and safely returned to Earth.
SpaceX CRS-13, also known as SpX-13, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched on 15 December 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and is flown by SpaceX. It was the second mission to successfully reuse a Dragon capsule, previously flown on CRS-6. The first stage of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket was the previously flown, "flight-proven" core from CRS-11. The first stage returned to land at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 after separation of the first and second stage.
Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Designed in 2014–2015, Falcon 9 Full Thrust began launch operations in December 2015. As of 7 March 2020 Falcon 9 Full Thrust had performed 62 launches.
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.
Dragon 2 In-Flight Abort Test was a test of the Crew Dragon abort system. The test was conducted on 19 January 2020. It involved the launch of a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A on a suborbital trajectory, followed by an inflight abort of Crew Dragon at max-Q. While the capsule successfully escaped, booster B1046 was destroyed as intended.
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On the West Coast, three missions have set placeholders for launch from Vandenberg, namely Iridium 2 on June 17, the Formosat-5 mission on July 22 and Iridium-3 on August 24.