List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
Cape Canaveral and adjacent Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast are home to the USA's Eastern Range, the most active rocket range and spaceport in the country. The Eastern Range hosts two groundside operators: the military Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the civilian Kennedy Space Center. Between them are dozens of launch pads, with several currently in active service and more in planning for activation.
Kennedy Space Center
[edit]Kennedy Space Center, operated by NASA, has two launch complexes on Merritt Island comprising four pads—two active, one under lease, and one inactive. From 1967 to 1975, it was the site of 13 Saturn V launches, three crewed Skylab flights and the Apollo–Soyuz; all Space Shuttle flights from 1981 to 2011, and one Ares 1-X flight in 2009. Since 2017, SpaceX uses Launch Complex 39A to launch their launch vehicles.
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
[edit]Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), operated by Space Launch Delta 45 of the U.S. Space 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 SFB in California, but is the launch site for many NASA uncrewed space probes, as those spacecraft are typically launched on United States Space Force launchers. Much of the support activity for CCSFS occurs at Patrick Space Force Base to the south, its reporting base.
Active launch vehicles are in bold.
Active sites
[edit]Sites leased for future use
[edit]| Site | Status | Uses | Notable Launches | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Complex 14 | Inactive
Leased to Stoke Space |
Future: Nova[6] Retired: Atlas, Mercury-Atlas, Atlas-Agena The site of all four crewed Mercury-Atlas launches used for Project Mercury. |
Mercury-Atlas 5, Mercury-Atlas 6, Gemini 8 ATV | 28°29′28″N 80°32′49″W / 28.49111°N 80.54694°W |
| Launch Complex 15 | Inactive
Leased to ABL Space Systems |
Future: RS1[6] Retired: Titan I, Titan II |
28°29′47″N 80°32′57″W / 28.4963°N 80.5493°W | |
| Launch Complex 16 | Undergoing renovation
Leased to Relativity Space |
Future: Terran R Retired: Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a, Pershing II, Terran 1 |
28°30′06″N 80°33′06″W / 28.5017°N 80.5518°W | |
| Launch Complex 20 | Inactive
Leased to Firefly Aerospace |
Future: Alpha, MLV Retired: Titan I, Titan IIIA, Starbird, Prospector, Aries, LCLV, Super Loki |
28°30′44″N 80°33′24″W / 28.51222°N 80.55667°W |
Spaceport Florida
[edit]As of 2008[update], Air Force Space Command committed to lease Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 36 to Space Florida for future use by the Athena III launch system.[7] It is not known if the plan was subsequently implemented.[needs update] Blue Origin leased Complex 36 in 2015, with plans to launch its reusable orbital vehicle from there by 2020 though as of early 2022 the launch is planned for the end of this year.[8]
| Site | Status | Uses | Notable Launches | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space Launch Complex 36A | Awaiting rocket activation Leased to Spaceport Florida, subleased to Blue Origin[8] |
Future: New Glenn[8] Retired: Atlas-Centaur,[7]Atlas II[9] |
Surveyor 1, Mariner 7, Pioneer 10, Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Pioneer Venus Multiprobe | 28°28′14″N 80°32′24″W / 28.47056°N 80.54000°W |
| Space Launch Complex 36B | Awaiting rocket activation Leased to Spaceport Florida, subleased to Blue Origin[8] |
Future: New Glenn[8] Retired: Atlas-Centaur, Atlas I, Atlas II, Atlas III |
Surveyor 3, OAO-2, Mariner 6, Mariner 9, Pioneer 11, Mariner 10 | |
| Space Launch Complex 46 | Active Leased to Spaceport Florida, subleased to Astra Space[10][11] |
Future: Rocket 4/5[12] Retired: Trident II,[13] Athena II, Athena I, Minotaur IV,[14] Rocket 3 |
Lunar Prospector, Ascent Abort-2 | 28°27′30″N 80°31′42″W / 28.45833°N 80.52833°W |
Inactive and previously used sites
[edit]Other
[edit]| Site | Status | Uses | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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[19] | |
| Eastern SLBM Launch Area | Active | Polaris, Poseidon, Trident | |
| Shuttle Landing Facility | Active | Pegasus, X-37B | 28°36′54″N 80°41′40″W / 28.615°N 80.6945°W |
| Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Skid Strip | Active | Navaho, Pegasus, Pegasus XL | 28°28′05″N 80°34′01″W / 28.468°N 80.567°W |
| Patrick SFB | Inactive | Matador |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "SpaceX wants NASA's LC-49 for Starship Super Heavy launches". spaceexplored.com.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (18 February 2024). "SpaceX wants to take over a Florida launch pad from rival ULA". Ars Technica. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 Industry Day". Space and Missile Systems Center. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Gruss, Mike (10 February 2015). "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ^ a b c @TGMetsFan98 (7 March 2023). "The US Space Force and @SLDelta45 have newly allocated three launch pads to four companies: SLC-15 (former Titan pad) to ABL Space Systems; SLC-14 (former Atlas pad) to Stoke Space; SLC-13 to Phantom Space and Vaya Spac. Interestingly, SLC-13 is currently LZ-1 and 2" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Craig Covault (27 October 2008). "Boeing Joins Commercial Athena III Program". Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Coming to the Space Coast". Blue Origin. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ Atkinson, Ian (11 September 2019). "Blue Origin continuing work on New Glenn launch complex, support facilities". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Astra Announces Launch for Nasa from Cape Canaveral in January". 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Complex 46". robsv.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ "U.S. Air Force's ORS-5 Satellite To Launch on Minotaur 4". SpaceNews. 9 July 2015.
- ^ "Launch Complex 29". Air Force Space and Missile Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches GPS III Satellite for U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center". www.ulalaunch.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Graham, William (9 April 2024). "Delta IV Heavy launches on final mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum". ccspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "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.