SLC-40 in late 2009, by which point most conversion work to support the Falcon 9 had been completed |
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| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
|---|---|
| Location | 28° 33' 44" N 80° 34' 38" W |
| Short name | SLC-40 |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Total launches | 56 |
| Launch pad(s) | 1 |
| Minimum / maximum orbital inclination |
28°–57° |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| First launch | Titan IIIC, 18 June 1965 |
| Last launch | Falcon 9/Dragon C1 8 December 2010 |
| Associated rockets | Titan III Titan 34D Titan IV Falcon 9 |
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40[1][2] (SLC-40), previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad at the north end of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was used by the United States Air Force for Titan III and Titan IV launches between 1965 and 2005.
On April 25, 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket.[3]
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The first launch from LC-40 was the maiden flight of the Titan IIIC (June 18, 1965), carrying two transtage upper stages to test the functionality of the vehicle.
Two interplanetary missions were launched from the pad:
The final Titan launch from SLC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite (Titan IV-B, April 30, 2005).
The tower was disassembled during late 2007 and early 2008. Demolition of the Mobile Service Structure (MSS), by means of a controlled explosion, occurred on April 27, 2008, by Controlled Demolition, Inc.[4]
During April 2008, construction started on the ground facilities necessary to support the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Renovations include installation of new liquid oxygen and kerosene tanks and construction of a hangar for rocket and payload preparation.
The first Falcon 9 rocket arrived at SLC-40 in late 2008, and was erected for the first time on January 10, 2009.[5] It successfully reached orbit on its maiden launch on June 4, 2010.
SLC-40 will become the launch facility of the SpaceX Dragon, a reusable automated cargo vehicle which will replace the cargo capabilities of the Space Shuttle following its retirement in 2011.[6] SpaceX successfully launched the first test flight for the Dragon from SLC-40 on December 8, 2010.
In October 2009, NASA provided a pre-solicitation notice regarding an effort to be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The commercial crew enabling work would include a "base task" of refurbishing and reactivating SLC-40 power transfer switches, performing maintenance on the lower Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) substation and motor control centers, installing bollards around piping, replacing the door frame and threshold for the Falcon Support Building mechanical room and repairing fencing around the complex perimeter. Several optional tasks would include work installing conductive flooring in the Hangar Hypergol area, performing corrosion control inspection and maintenance of the lightning protection tower's structural steel, upgrading and refurbishing other facility equipment and performing corrosion control on rail cars and pad lighting poles, painting several buildings, repairing and improving roads, and hydro-seeding the complex.[7]
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