Space Launch Complex 41
CCAFS SLC-41 | |
---|---|
The Atlas V with New Horizons about to take off | |
Coordinates | 28 ° 35 ′ 0 ″ N , 80 ° 34 ′ 59 ″ W |
Type | Orbital Launch Site |
operator | Space Florida , ULA |
start of building | 1963 |
Launch pads | 1 |
Missiles | earlier various Titan III / IV ; now Atlas V ; Vulcan (planned) |
The Space Launch Complex 41 ( SLC-41 ; formerly Launch Complex 41 , LC-41) is a rocket launch site operated by Space Florida on the premises of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Merritt Island , Cape Canaveral in Florida , USA .
From here the US Air Force launched Titan-III C , Titan-IV rockets and NASA's seven Titan-III E / Centaur rockets . Today, after a major renovation, the launch pad is the only launch site for the Atlas V in Cape Canaveral, and in the future for its successor, the Vulcan .
history
Originally, LC-41 was built together with Complex 40 as a launch pad for the Titan IIIC. After construction in 1963, the US Air Force's OV2 satellite was launched on December 21, 1965. Although the launch was successful, the high school failed and put the satellite in a wrong orbit.
A few more military Titan III-C launches followed in the next few years, as the LC 41 was modified for the launch of the Titan III-E / Centaur rockets by NASA and systems for the cryogenic propellants (liquid hydrogen and oxygen ) of the Centaur upper stage were installed .
The first launch of a Titan IIIE / Centaur failed because the Centaur did not ignite in flight; the other six starts of this type were successful.
The first successful launch of a Titan-IIIE / Centaur from launch position 41 brought the Helios 1 solar probe into space on December 10, 1974 .
This was followed by the successful Viking Landers of NASA with Titan IIIE / Centaur rockets , which took off on August 20 and September 9, 1975 and landed on Mars a year later .
On January 15, 1976, Helios 2 took off from Complex 41, which approached the Sun up to 43.5 million kilometers, closer than any other spacecraft before, until today (2009).
In 1977 Voyager 1 and 2 began their journey to the outer planets here. These started on August 20 and September 5, 1977 on board a Titan IIIE Centaur.
After 17 Titan III flights, no more flights were undertaken for the next few years. Between 1986 and 1988, the ramp for the Titan IV was rebuilt as part of a $ 57 million project. With the take-off of the new Titan on June 14, 1989, the decade of this new Titan began, whereby the last two launches of this missile type failed.
From 1999 the ramp changed its face for the second time. The ramp, which is no longer required, has been completely rebuilt so that a new starting point has been created for the new Atlas V. The first Atlas V from LC 41 took off on August 21, 2002. Among the other Atlas V flights was New Horizons in 2006 - the first probe to investigate Pluto . New Horizons was accelerated to a speed of 16.21 km / s by its Atlas V (551), faster than any space probe before.
Conversions for manned flights
In September 2015, renovation work began again in order to be able to start manned missions with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner from here in the future.
For this purpose, a fixed service tower will again be built on the ramp, from which the astronauts can climb the space capsule.
The complex
The launch pad was until the conversion of the Atlas V practically a copy of the Launch Complex 40 . Most of the rockets were assembled in the Vertical Integration Building (VIB), driven to the launch pad and prepared for launch with the help of a huge service tower.
Much changed during the conversion for the Atlas V: the launch system was blown up. Only the foundation, the exhaust shafts and the four lightning rods arranged around the launch pad were retained. While almost every launch ramp is visible from afar through a huge grid structure, today you only find the concrete table and other flat equipment on SLC-41, apart from the lightning rod system. The Atlas V missiles will therefore be built in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF; not to be confused with the old Vertical Integration Building) 550 m away . The prepared rocket parts come from the Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC). This building is about 6.5 kilometers from the complex and was previously used for the Titan IV missiles. Once the rocket is fully assembled in the VIF, it can be driven to the launch pad with a small, mobile tower. However, this only happens a few hours before the start. On the SLC-41 itself, the rocket is then only refueled.
Start list
As of December 31, 2019
date | Time ( UTC ) | Missile type | serial number | Mission / payload |
---|---|---|---|---|
December 21, 1965 | Titan III | 3C-8 | Transtage 8 / LES 3 / LES 4 / Oscar 4 | |
June 16, 1966 | 14:00 | Titan III | 3C-11 | GGTS 1 / IDCSP |
August 26, 1966 | 13:59 | Titan III | 3C-12 | IDCSP |
January 18, 1967 | 14:19 | Titan III | 3C-13 | IDCSP |
April 28, 1967 | 10:01 | Titan III | 3C-10 | Vela 7 / Vela 8 / ERS 18 / ERS 20 / ERS 27 |
July 1, 1967 | 13:15 | Titan III | 3C-14 | IDCSP / LES 5 |
June 13, 1968 | 14:03 | Titan III | 3C-16 | IDCSP |
26th September 1968 | 07:37 | Titan III | 3C-5 | LES 6 / ERS 21 / ERS 28 |
February 9, 1969 | 21:09 | Titan III | 3C-17 | TacSat 1 |
May 23, 1969 | 07:57 | Titan III | 3C-15 | Vela 9 / Vela 10 / ERS 26 / ERS 29 |
February 11, 1974 | 13:48 | Titan III | 23E-1 Centaur D-1T | sphinx |
December 10, 1974 | 07:11 | Titan III | 23E-2 Centaur D-1T | Helios 1 |
20th August 1975 | 21:22 | Titan III | 23E-4 Centaur D-1T | Viking 1 |
September 9, 1975 | 18:39 | Titan III | 23E-3 Centaur D-1T | Viking 2 |
15th January 1976 | 05:34 | Titan III | 23E-5 Centaur D-1T | Helios 2 |
20th August 1977 | 14:29 | Titan III | 23E-7 Centaur D-1T | Voyager 2 |
5th September 1977 | 12:56 | Titan III | 23E-6 Centaur D-1T | Voyager 1 |
June 14, 1989 | 13:18 | Titan IV | 402A K-1 IUS | DSP-1 block 14 F14 |
June 8, 1990 | 04:22 | Titan IV | 405A K-4 | NOSS |
November 13, 1990 | 00:37 | Titan IV | 402A K-6 IUS | DSP-1 block 14 F15 |
May 4, 1994 | 15:55 | Titan IV | 401A K-7 Centaur TC-10 | Trumpet 1 |
August 27, 1994 | 08:58 | Titan IV | 401A K-9 Centaur TC-11 | Mercury ELINT 1 |
July 10, 1995 | 12:38 | Titan IV | 401A K-19 Centaur TC-8 | Trumpet 2 |
April 24, 1996 | 23:37 | Titan IV | 401A K-16 Cenraur TC-15 | Mercury ELINT 2 |
November 8, 1997 | 02:05 | Titan IV | 401A Centaur TC-16 | Trumpet 3 |
August 12, 1998 | 11:30 | Titan IV | 401A K-17 Centaur TC-9 | Mercury ELINT 3 |
April 9, 1999 | 17:01 | Titan IV | 402B K-32 IUS | DSP-1 block 18 F19 |
August 21, 2002 | 22:05 | Atlas V 401 | AV-001 | Hot Bird 6 |
May 13, 2003 | Atlas V 401 | AV-002 | Hellas Sat 2 | |
July 17, 2003 | 23:45 | Atlas V 521 | AV-003 | Rainbow 1 |
December 17, 2004 | 12:07 | Atlas V 521 | AV-005 | AMC-16 |
March 11, 2005 | 21:42 | Atlas V 431 | AV-004 | Inmarsat 4-F1 |
August 12, 2005 | 11:43 | Atlas V 401 | AV-007 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter |
January 19, 2006 | 19:00 | Atlas V 551 | AV-010 | New Horizons |
April 20, 2006 | 20:27 | Atlas V 411 | AV-008 | Astra 1KR |
March 9, 2007 | 03:10 | Atlas V 401 | AV-013 | STPSat-1 / Midstar 1 |
June 15, 2007 | 15:11 | Atlas V 401 | AV-009 | USA 194, NROL-30 |
October 11, 2007 | 00:22 | Atlas V 421 | AV-011 | WGS SV-1 |
December 10, 2007 | 22:05 | Atlas V 401 | AV-015 | NROL-24 |
April 14, 2008 | 20:12 | Atlas V 421 | AV-014 | ICO G1 |
April 4, 2009 | 08:34 | Atlas V 421 | AV-016 | WGS 2 |
June 18, 2009 | 21:32 | Atlas V 401 | AV-020 | LCROSS |
September 8, 2009 | 21:35 | Atlas V 401 | AV-018 | PAN |
November 23, 2009 | 06:55 | Atlas V 431 | AV-024 | Intelsat 14 |
February 11, 2010 | 15:23 | Atlas V 401 | AV-021 | Solar Dynamics Observatory |
April 22, 2010 | 23:52 | Atlas V 501 | AV-012 | X-37B |
August 14, 2010 | 11:07 | Atlas V 531 | AV-019 | AEHF 1 |
March 5, 2011 | 22:46 | Atlas V 501 | AV-026 | X-37B |
May 7, 2011 | 18:10 | Atlas V 401 | AV-022 | SBIRS-GEO-1 |
August 5, 2011 | 16:25 | Atlas V 551 | AV-029 | Juno |
November 26, 2011 | 15:02 | Atlas V 541 | AV-028 | Mars Science Laboratory |
February 24, 2012 | 22:15 | Atlas V 551 | AV-030 | MUOS-1 |
May 4, 2012 | 18:42 | Atlas V 531 | AV-031 | AEHF 2 |
June 20, 2012 | 12:28 | Atlas V 401 | AV-023 | NROL-38 |
August 30, 2012 | 08:05 | Atlas V 401 | AV-032 | Radiation Belt Storm Probes |
December 11, 2012 | 18:03 | Atlas V 501 | AV-034 | X-37B |
January 31, 2013 | 01:48 | Atlas V 401 | AV-036 | TDRS-K |
March 19, 2013 | 21:21 | Atlas V 401 | AV-037 | SBIRS-GEO-2 |
May 15, 2013 | 21:38 | Atlas V 401 | AV-039 | GPS IIF-4 |
19th July 2013 | 13:00 | Atlas V 551 | AV-040 | MUOS-2 |
18th September 2013 | 08:10 | Atlas V 531 | AV-041 | AEHF-3 |
18th November 2013 | 18:28 | Atlas V 401 | AV-038 | MAVEN |
January 24, 2014 | 02:33 | Atlas V 401 | AV-042 | TDRS-L |
April 10, 2014 | 17:45 | Atlas V 541 | AV-045 | NROL-67 |
May 22, 2014 | 13:09 | Atlas V 401 | AV-046 | NROL-33 |
2nd August 2014 | 03:23 | Atlas V 401 | AV-048 | GPS IIF-7 |
17th September 2014 | 00:10 | Atlas V 401 | AV-049 | CLIO |
October 29, 2014 | 17:21 | Atlas V 401 | AV-050 | GPS -2F 8 |
January 21, 2015 | 01:04 | Atlas V 551 | AV-052 | MUOS-3 |
March 13, 2015 | 02:44 | Atlas V 421 | AV-053 | Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) |
May 20, 2015 | 15:05 | Atlas V 501 | AV-054 | AFSPC-5: X-37 OTV-4 , ULTRASat : LightSail A , GEARRSAT 2 , OptiCube 1 , OptiCube 2 , OptiCube 3 , USS Langley , AeroCube 8A , AeroCube 8B , BRICSat-P , PSat A |
15th July 2015 | 15:36 | Atlas V 401 | AV-055 | GPS -2F 10 |
2nd September 2015 | 10:18 | Atlas V 551 | AV-056 | MUOS-4 |
October 2nd, 2015 | 10:28 | Atlas V 421 | AV-059 | Morelos 3 |
October 31, 2015 | 16:13 | Atlas V 401 | AV-060 | GPS -2F 11 |
5th December 2015 | 21:44 | Atlas V 401 | AV-061 | Cygnus OA-4 |
5th February 2016 | 13:38 | Atlas V 401 | AV-057 | GPS -2F 12 |
March 23, 2016 | 03:05 | Atlas V 401 | AV-064 | Cygnus OA-6 |
June 24, 2016 | 14:30 | Atlas V 551 | AV-063 | MUOS-5 |
July 28, 2016 | 12:37 | Atlas V 421 | AV-065 | NROL-61 |
September 8, 2016 | 23:05 | Atlas V 411 | AV-067 | OSIRIS-REx |
December 18, 2016 | 19:13 | Atlas V 431 | AV-071 | EchoStar 19 |
January 21, 2017 | 00:42 | Atlas V 401 | AV-066 | SBIRS-GEO 3 |
1st March 2017 | 17:49 | Atlas V 401 | AV-068 | NROL-79 |
April 18, 2017 | 15:11 | Atlas V 401 | AV-070 | Cygnus OA-7 |
18th August 2017 | 12:29 | Atlas V 401 | AV-074 | TDRS-M |
15th October 2017 | 07:28 | Atlas V 421 | AV-075 | NROL-52 |
20th January 2018 | 00:48 | Atlas V 411 | AV-076 | SBIRS-GEO 4 |
1st March 2018 | 22:02 | Atlas V 541 | AV-077 | GOES-S |
April 14, 2018 | 23:13 | Atlas V 551 | AV-079 | AFSPC-11 |
17th October 2018 | 04:15 | Atlas V 551 | AV-073 | AEHF-4 |
August 8, 2019 | 10:13 | Atlas V 551 | AV-083 | AEHF-5 |
20th December 2019 | 11:36 | Atlas V N22 | AV-080 | Boe-OFT |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cape Canaveral Spaceport Master Plan. (PDF) Spaceport Florida, January 2017, accessed on March 18, 2019 .
- ↑ ULA selects launch pads for new Vulcan rocket. In: Spaceflight Now. October 12, 2015, accessed August 14, 2019 .
- ^ Crew tower rising at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41 . In: FloridaToday , September 21, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ↑ a b Canaveral and KSC pads: New designs for space access . In: NASASpaceFlight.com , October 8, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ↑ Gunter Krebs: ntruder 5, ..., 12 (NOSS-3 1, ..., 8) - Gunter's Space Page. space.skyrocket, June 2, 2017, accessed July 13, 2017 .