List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
Cape Canaveral and adjacent Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast are home to two American spaceports, one civilian and one military, servicing several active launch sites.
Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, operated by NASA, has two launch complexes with two active pads on Merritt Island. From 1968–1975, it was the site of 13 Saturn V launches, three crewed Skylab flights and the Apollo-Soyuz; all Space Shuttle flights from 1981–2011, and one Ares 1-X flight in 2009. Since 2017, SpaceX use Launch Complex 39A to launch their launch vehicles.
Site | Status | Uses |
---|---|---|
Launch Complex 39A | Active Owned by NASA, Leased to SpaceX |
Current: Falcon Heavy, Falcon 9 Block 5 Prior: Saturn V, Space Shuttle Future: Starship |
Launch Complex 39B | Active[1] Owned by NASA |
Prior: Saturn V, Saturn IB (Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz), Space Shuttle Future: Space Launch System, OmegA |
Launch Complex 39C | Inactive Owned by NASA |
|
Launch Complex 48 | Under Construction Owned by NASA |
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), operated by the 45th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force, was the site of all U.S. crewed launches before Apollo 8, as well as many other early Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA launches. For the DoD, it plays a secondary role to Vandenberg AFB in California, but is the launch site for many NASA uncrewed space probes, as those spacecraft are typically launched on Air Force launchers. Much of the support activity for CCAFS occurs at Patrick Air Force Base to the south, its reporting base.
Active launch vehicles are in bold.
Active sites
Site | Status | Uses |
---|---|---|
Launch Complex 13 (Landing Zone 1 and 2) |
Active - Leased to SpaceX | Current: Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stage landing site[2] Prior: Atlas, Atlas Agena |
Space Launch Complex 37B | Active - Used by United Launch Alliance | Current: Delta IV Heavy Prior: Saturn I, Saturn IB, planned Saturn C-3, Delta IV Medium |
Space Launch Complex 40 | Active - Leased to SpaceX | Current: Falcon 9 Block 5 Prior: Titan III, Titan IV, Falcon 9 v1.0, Falcon 9 1.1 |
Space Launch Complex 41 | Active - Used by United Launch Alliance | Current: Atlas V Prior: Titan III, Titan IV Future: Vulcan |
Launch Complex 47 | Active (has been unused for some time) | Current: Rocketsonde Sounding Rocket and Super Loki |
Inactive sites
Site | Status | Uses |
---|---|---|
Launch Complex 1 | Inactive | Snark, Matador, Aerostat |
Launch Complex 2 | Inactive | Snark, Matador, Aerostat |
Launch Complex 3 | Inactive | Bumper-WAC, BOMARC, Polaris, X-17 |
Launch Complex 4 | Inactive | BOMARC, Redstone, Matador, Jason, Draco |
Launch Complex 4A | Inactive | BOMARC |
Launch Complex 5 | Inactive | Jupiter, Redstone, Mercury/Redstone. The site of all six crewed and uncrewed Mercury/Redstone launches. |
Launch Complex 6 | Inactive | Redstone, Jupiter |
Launch Complex 9 | Inactive | Navaho |
Launch Complex 10 | Inactive | Jason, Draco, Nike Tomahawk |
Launch Complex 11 | Undergoing renovation - Leased to Blue Origin | Atlas Future BE-4 test stand area for New Glenn |
Launch Complex 12 | Inactive | Atlas, Atlas Agena |
Launch Complex 14 | Inactive | Atlas, Mercury/Atlas D, Atlas Agena The site of all four crewed Mercury/Atlas launches. |
Launch Complex 15 | Inactive | Titan I, Titan II |
Launch Complex 16 | Inactive - Leased to Relativity Space | Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a, Future: Terran 1 |
Launch Complex 17A | Demolished | Thor, Delta II |
Launch Complex 17B | Demolished | Delta II, Delta III, Thor |
Launch Complex 18 | Inactive | Viking, Vanguard, Thor, Blue Scout Junior, Blue Scout |
Launch Complex 19 | Inactive | Titan I, Gemini/Titan II. The site of all ten crewed Gemini/Titan II launches. |
Launch Complex 20 | Inactive - Leased to Firefly Aerospace | Titan I, Titan III, Starbird, Prospector, Aries, LCLV, Super Loki |
Launch Complex 21 | Inactive | Goose, Mace |
Launch Complex 22 | Inactive | Goose, Mace |
Launch Complex 25 | Inactive | Polaris, X-17, Poseidon, Trident I |
Launch Complex 26 | Inactive | Jupiter, Redstone Launch site of Explorer 1 - the first successful U.S. satellite |
Launch Complex 29 | Inactive | Polaris[3] |
Launch Complex 30A | Inactive | Pershing 1 |
Launch Complex 31 | Inactive | Minuteman, Pershing 1a. Used as a burial vault for the Space Shuttle Challenger |
Launch Complex 32 | Inactive | Minuteman |
Launch Complex 34 | Inactive | Saturn I, Saturn IB. Site of Apollo 1 fire and Apollo 7 launch |
Launch Complex 37A | Demolished | Saturn I, Saturn IB (unused) |
Launch Complex 43 | Demolished | Super Loki |
Launch Complex 45 | Demolished | None |
Spaceport Florida
As of 2008, the U.S. Air Force committed to lease Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 36 to Space Florida for future use by the Athena III launch system.[4] It is not known if the plan was subsequently implemented. Blue Origin leased Complex 36 in 2015, with plans to launch its reusable orbital vehicle from there by 2020.[5]
Site | Status | Uses |
---|---|---|
Space Launch Complex 36A | Undergoing renovation - Leased to Blue Origin[5] | Previous: Atlas/Centaur, [4])Atlas II Future: New Glenn[5] |
Space Launch Complex 36B | Undergoing renovation - Leased to Blue Origin[5] | Previous: Atlas, Atlas II, Atlas III Future: New Glenn[5] |
Space Launch Complex 46 | Active (has been unused for some time)[6][7] | Previous: Athena, Trident II,[8] Future: Minotaur IV,[9] |
Other
Site | Status | Uses |
---|---|---|
Atlantic Missile Range drop zone | Inactive | High Virgo, Bold Orion, Hound Dog, Skybolt |
Grand Turk Auxiliary AFB, Grand Turk Island drop zone | Inactive | Arcas (All-Purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Soundings) |
Mobile Launch Area | Inactive | Lark, Matador, Snark[10] |
Eastern SLBM Launch Area | Active | Polaris, Poseidon, Trident |
Shuttle Landing Facility | Active | Pegasus, X-37B |
Cape Canaveral AFS Skid Strip | Active | Navaho, Pegasus, Pegasus XL |
Patrick AFB | Inactive | Matador |
See also
References
- Bergeron, Julia (13 July 2018). "The most recent version of the CCAFS map (Nov 2017) has made it into our history center for reference. It exciting to see the Commercial Partner landmarks mixed in with space history.pic.twitter.com/ChVhnEl1AY". Twitter.
- Gruss, Mike. "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- "Launch Complex 29". Air Force Space and Missile Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- Craig Covault (27 October 2008). "Boeing Joins Commercial Athena III Program". Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- "Coming to the Space Coast". Blue Origin. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- Messier, Doug (11 February 2014). "ATK to Upgrade Space Florida's Launch Complex 46". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- Wall, Mike (26 August 2017). "Converted Missile Launches Military Satellite to Track Spacecraft and Debris". Space.com. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "Complex 46". robsv.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- "U.S. Air Force's ORS-5 Satellite To Launch on Minotaur 4".
- "HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD, CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, LAUNCH COMPLEX 34 OPERATIONS SUPPORT BUILDING" (PDF). National Aeronautic and Space Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.