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Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40

1965 establishments in FloridaCape Canaveral Space Force StationLaunch complexes of the United States Space ForceSpaceX facilities
Falcon 9 NG 20 Launch (8217536)
Falcon 9 NG 20 Launch (8217536)

Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), sometimes referred to as "Slick Forty," is a launch pad located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Initially opened as Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) and used by the United States Air Force for 55 launches of rockets from the Titan family between 1965 and 2005. In 2007, SpaceX acquired a lease for SLC-40 and has since transformed the complex into a high-volume launch site for the Falcon 9 rocket. As of November 2024, the pad has hosted over 220 Falcon 9 launches. A major setback occurred in 2016 when a catastrophic explosion during a static fire test heavily damaged the facility. After extensive repairs and upgrades, SLC-40 returned to service in December 2017. To further enhance its capabilities, a tower and access arm were added in 2023 to support SpaceX's crewed missions.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40
Centaur Road,

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N 28.562106 ° E -80.57718 °
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Space Launch Complex 40

Centaur Road

Florida, United States
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Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex
Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex

The Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex (ITL) is a rocket launch site located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Situated on the northern end of the Banana River, the complex and its various components were originally constructed by the United States Air Force for the Titan III program, and was later modified for use by the Titan IV. The ITL's design is similar to that of Launch Complex 39 at the neighboring Kennedy Space Center, where it consists of two launch pads at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) and Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41), as well as a Vertical Integration Building (VIB), a Solid Motor Assembly Building (SMAB), and a Solid Motor Assembly Readiness Facility (SMARF), all connected by rail. Following the retirement of the Titan family in 2005, the Air Force and the United States Space Force have divided the ITL between two private spaceflight companies in the processing and launch of their rockets. SpaceX currently leases SLC-40 in the integration, launch, and landing of their reusable Falcon 9, and additionally uses the SMAB to encapsulate any of their payloads. Meanwhile, SLC-41 has been used by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch the Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur. For the assembly of these rockets, the Government Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-G) was constructed for both vehicles, and the SMARF was renamed to the Amazon Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-A) for Vulcan. Early on, a third launch pad was planned to be constructed at the ITL, to be designated Launch Complex 42 (LC-42). However, the envisioned location west of the facility led to proximity issues with Launch Complex 39A, which resulted in LC-42 never being built.

Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39

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 as the Apollo program's "Moonport" and later modified for the Space Shuttle program. Launch Complex 39 consists of three launch sub-complexes or "pads"—39A, 39B, and 39C—a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a Crawlerway used by crawler-transporters to carry mobile launcher platforms between the VAB and the pads, Orbiter Processing Facility buildings, a Launch Control Center which contains the firing rooms, a news facility famous for the iconic countdown clock seen in television coverage and photos, and various logistical and operational support buildings. SpaceX leases Launch Complex 39A from NASA and has modified the pad to support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches. NASA began modifying Launch Complex 39B in 2007 to accommodate the now defunct Constellation program, and is currently prepared for the Artemis program, which was first launched in November 2022. A pad to be designated 39C, which would have been a copy of pads 39A and 39B, was originally planned for Apollo but never built. A smaller pad, also designated 39C, was constructed from January to June 2015, to accommodate small-lift launch vehicles. NASA launches from pads 39A and 39B have been supervised from the NASA Launch Control Center (LCC), located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the launch pads. LC-39 is one of several launch sites that share the radar and tracking services of the Eastern Test Range.

Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 16
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 16

Launch Complex 16 (LC-16) is a launch pad site located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. Part of the Missile Row lineup of launch pads, it was built for use by LGM-25 Titan missiles, and later used for NASA operations before being transferred back to the US military and used for tests of MGM-31 Pershing missiles. Six Titan I missiles were launched from the complex between December 1959 and May 1960. These were followed by seven Titan II missiles, starting with the type's maiden flight on March 16, 1962. The last Titan II launch from LC-16 was conducted on May 29, 1963. Following the end of its involvement with the Titan missile, on 16 September 1964 LC-16 was released to NASA, which used it for Gemini crew processing, and static firing tests of the Apollo Service Module's propulsion engine. Following its return to the US Air Force in 1972, it was converted for use by the Pershing missile, which made its first flight from the complex on May 7, 1974. Seventy-nine Pershing 1a and 49 Pershing II missiles were launched from LC-16. The last Pershing launch from the facility was conducted on March 21, 1988. It was deactivated the next day and subsequently decommissioned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It was announced on January 17, 2019, that Relativity Space had entered a 5-year agreement to use LC-16 for its Terran 1 orbital launch vehicle and eventually its Terran R. The maiden flight of the Terran 1 launch vehicle took place on 23 March 2023 and resulted in a failure. The maiden flight of Terran 1 was the first orbital launch attempt from Launch Complex 16 (141 suborbital launches before the Terran 1).