Misplaced Pages

Space Launch Complex 40

SLC-40 during launch of NG-20 in January 2024 with the newly constructed tower and access arm for future crewed launches
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Location	28°33′44″N 80°34′38″W / 28.562106°N 80.577180°W / 28.562106; -80.577180
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Short name	SLC-40
Operator	United States Space Force (owner) SpaceX (tenant)
Total launches	278
Orbital inclination range	28.5–55, 66–145°
Launch history Status Active First launch 18 June 1965 Titan IIIC (Transtage) Last launch 17 December 2024 Falcon 9 Block 5 (GPS III-7 RRT-1) Associated rockets Active: Falcon 9 Retired: Titan

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.

Titan

Originally designated Launch Complex 40, SLC-40 hosted its inaugural launch for the United States Air Force in June 1965, a Titan IIIC rocket equipped with two transtage upper stages for testing purposes.

Notably, the pad served as the launch site for two interplanetary missions: the failed Mars Observer in September 1992 and the successful Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn in October 1997.

Over its lifetime, SLC-40 supported a total of 55 Titan launches, including 26 Titan IIICs, eight Titan 34Ds, four Commercial Titan IIIs, and 17 Titan IVs. The final Titan launch from SLC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite carried on a Titan IV-B on April 30, 2005.

Following the conclusion of Titan operations, the launch complex underwent significant transformation. The tower was dismantled in early 2008, followed by the controlled demolition of the Mobile Service Structure later that year.

SpaceX / Falcon 9

SpaceX leased SLC-40 from the U.S. Air Force in April 2007 to launch its Falcon 9 rocket. Ground facility construction began the following year, including a rocket and payload preparation hangar and new fuel tanks. A spherical liquid oxygen tank previously used at LC-34 was purchased from NASA.

The first Falcon 9 arrived in late 2008, with the inaugural launch in June 2010 carrying a dummy payload. A Dragon spacecraft demonstration flight followed in December. Starting in 2012, SLC-40 became the primary launch site for the Dragon cargo vehicle providing provide two-way logistics to and from the International Space Station, a role previously filled by the Space Shuttle until its retirement in 2011.

To accommodate the heavier Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, the launch pad was modified in 2013. Launch frequency gradually increased from 2014, with a mix of Dragon and satellite missions.

A catastrophic explosion occurred at SLC-40 in September 2016 during a static fire test, destroying a Falcon 9 rocket and its payload, the AMOS-6 satellite. The incident caused significant damage to the launch pad. After a thorough investigation and cleanup, repairs and upgrades began in early 2017. SLC-40 returned to service in December 2017 with the successful launch of CRS-13.

SpaceX had leased Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the nearby Kennedy Space Center from NASA in April 2014, which allowed launches to continue to from Florida during the reconstruction of SLC-40. In August 2018, LC-39A's crew access tower received an access arm, allowing crew to be loaded onto Crew Dragon 2 capsules along with late payload changes on Cargo Dragon 2 capsules. Because SLC-40 lacked an access tower, Dragon missions were paused after the original Dragon 1 capsule was retired in 2020.

In the 2020s, SLC-40 would become SpaceX’s "workhorse" launch pad, hosting less complex satellite launch missions as frequently as every week, completing 50 launches of this launch pad alone in 2023. Meanwhile, LC-39A was used less, being reserved for Dragon crew and cargo flights, Falcon Heavy missions, and other complex missions.

To add additional operational flexibility and reduce reliance on LC-39A, in early 2023, SpaceX began constructing an access tower at SLC-40. In February 2024, SpaceX tested its new emergency escape system for future crewed missions, which uses an evacuation slide instead of the slidewire baskets used at LC-39A.

The tower was first used ahead of in early 2024 to accommodate late loading of supplies into cargo spacecraft. SLC-40 was used to launch its first crewed mission in September 2024, SpaceX Crew-9. The mission had been slated to use LC-39A, but was shifted to SLC-40 when the launch was delayed due to issues with the Boeing Starliner Calypso spacecraft that was docked to the ISS. The September launch of Crew-9 was concerningly close to the launch NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which launched from LC-39A on October 14.

Launch history

Statistics

•   Titan III-C
•   Titan 34D
•   Commercial Titan III
•   Titan IV
•   Falcon 9

List of launches

As of December 8, 2024

Past launches

Upcoming launches

References

1. "Falcon User's Guide" (PDF). SpaceX. September 2021. p. 11.
2. "Launch Complex 40". Afspacemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
3. Hidalgo Whitesides, Loretta (May 1, 2008). "Launch Pad Demolition Clears Way for SpaceX Rockets". Wired. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
4. Kelly, John (April 25, 2007). "SpaceX cleared for Cape launches". Florida Today. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
5. "NASA Selects SpaceX's Falcon 9 Booster and Dragon Spacecraft for Cargo Resupply Services to the International Space Station". SpaceX.com. December 23, 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
6. "Falcon 9's commercial promise to be tested in 2013". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
7. "SpaceX Anomaly Update". SpaceX.com. September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
8. Bill Chappell (September 1, 2016). "SpaceX Rocket And Its Cargo Explode On Launch Pad In Florida". NPR. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
9. Klotz, Irene (2013-08-02). "SpaceX Appetite for U.S. Launch Sites Grows". Space News. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
10. "SpaceX Will Launch Another Used Dragon Capsule to Space Station Soon". Space.com. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
11. Bergin, Chris (March 7, 2017). "SpaceX prepares Falcon 9 for EchoStar 23 launch as SLC-40 targets return". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 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.
12. "SpaceX launches and lands its first used rocket for NASA". The Verge. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
13. ^ Clark, Stephen (2024-03-20). "SpaceX's workhorse launch pad now has the accoutrements for astronauts". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
14. Robinson-Smith, Will (2024-02-27). "SpaceX tests new emergency escape system to certify pad 40 at Cape Canaveral for astronaut missions". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
15. Smith, Martin (2024-03-21). "SpaceX's 30th resupply mission uses new access tower at SLC-40 for the first time". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
16. Berger, Eric (6 August 2024). "NASA chief will make the final decision on how Starliner crew flies home". Ars Technica. Retrieved 7 August 2024. The Crew-9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the first crewed launch from this complex, which SpaceX has built up in addition to its crew tower at Launch Complex 39A at nearby Kennedy Space Center.
17. Niles-Carnes, Elyna (6 August 2024). "NASA Adjusts Crew-9 Launch Date for Operational Flexibility". NASA. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

v t e SpaceX
History
Launch vehicles	Current Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters Falcon Heavy In development Starship Super Heavy booster upper stage lunar lander Retired Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 "Full Thrust" v1.2 Block 4 Cancelled Falcon 1e* Falcon 5* Falcon 9 Air* BFR and ITS*
Spacecraft	Cargo Dragon 1 Cargo Dragon 2 Cargo Dragon XL* Starship* Crewed Dragon 2 Crew C206 Endeavour C207 Resilience C210 Endurance C212 Freedom Starship*
Test vehicles	Current Starship prototypes first stage booster upper stage Retired Grasshopper F9R Dev1† DragonFly Starhopper Unflown F9R Dev2*
Rocket engines	Merlin 1A 1B* 1C 1D Vacuum Kestrel Draco SuperDraco Raptor 1 2 3 Vacuum
Lists of missions	Falcon 1 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy 2010–2019 2020–2021 SpaceBEE Starlink launches in the Russo-Ukrainian War Starship
Launch facilities	Orbital CCSFS SLC-40 KSC LC-39A VSFB SLC-4E VSFB SLC-6* Omelek Island† Atmospheric McGregor New Mexico† Starbase Boca Chica
Landing sites	Autonomous spaceport drone ships Landing Zones LZ-1 and LZ-2 LZ-4
Other facilities	Headquarters and factory Hawthorne, California Rocket development and test facility McGregor, Texas Satellite development facility Redmond, Washington Regional offices Chantilly, Houston, Seattle, Washington DC STARGATE
Support	Megan (recovery ship) Shannon (recovery ship) SpaceX fairing recovery program
Contracts	Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Resupply Services Commercial Crew Program Commercial Lunar Payload Services Gateway Logistics Services Human Landing System Polaris Rocket Cargo Starshield
R&D programs	Reusability Falcon 9 landing tests Red Dragon (canceled) Mars transport
Key people	Elon Musk (CEO, CTO) Gwynne Shotwell (President and COO) Tom Mueller (former VP of Propulsion Development)
Related	Blue Origin Federation, LLC v. United States Commercial astronaut Billionaire space race Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space (2021 docuseries) Return to Space (2022)
* denotes unflown vehicles or engines, and future missions or sites. † denotes failed missions, destroyed vehicles, and abandoned sites. Category

• Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
• Launch complexes of the United States Space Force
• SpaceX facilities
• 1965 establishments in Florida