Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41
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 An aerial view of LC-41. The Atlas V on the pad is the one used to launch New Horizons to Pluto. |
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| Launch Site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | ||
| Location | 28°35'N 80°34'58"W |
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| Short name | LC-41 | ||
| Operator | US Air Force | ||
| Total launches | 38 | ||
| Launch pads | 1 | ||
| Minimum/Maximum orbital inclination |
28° - 57° | ||
| Launch History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Active | ||
| First launch | Titan IIIC, 21 December 1965 (multiple payloads) | ||
| Last launch | ICO G1, 14 April 2008 | ||
| Associated rockets | Titan III Titan IV Atlas V |
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Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41 (LC-41) is an active Launch Site at Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The site is currently used by United Launch Alliance, for Atlas V launches. Previously, it had been used by the US Air Force, for Titan III and Titan IV launches.
The first launch from LC-41 was a Titan IIIC, carrying four separate payloads, on December 21, 1965.
In addition to satellites, several probes were launched from LC-41 in the 1970s, including the Helios probes to the Sun, the Viking probes to Mars, and the Voyager planetary flyby and deep space probes. More recent probes have also been launched from LC-41 using the Atlas V - The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in December 2004, and the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto in January 2006.
LC-41 also was the pad used for the maiden flight of the Titan IV. The last Titan launch was on April 9, 1999, when a Titan IVB launched the USA 142 early warning satellite. This launch resulted in a failure, after the IUS upper stage failed to separate, leaving the payload stranded in a useless GTO orbit. The complex was then renovated, and is now used by ULA for Atlas V launches.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41 is at coordinates Coordinates:
- ILS Atlas V website
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