Space Launch Complex 40

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CCAFS SLC-40
A Titan IV-B missile with the Cassini-Huygens probe on the launch pad
A Titan IV-B missile with the Cassini-Huygens probe on the launch pad
Coordinates 28 ° 33 '43 "  N , 80 ° 34' 38"  W Coordinates: 28 ° 33 '43 "  N , 80 ° 34' 38"  W.
Type Orbital Launch Site
operator Space Florida , SpaceX
start of building 1963
Launch pads 1
Missiles Titan III-C, IV-A, IV-B , Falcon 9
CCAFSLC-39 Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 SLC-41 Space Launch Complex 41 SLC-40 Space Launch Complex 40 LC-47 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 47 SLC-37 Space Launch Complex 37 LC-34 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 34 LC-20 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 20 LC-19 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 19 LC-16 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 16 LC-15 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 15 LC-14 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 14 LC-13 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 13 LC-12 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 12 LC-11 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 11 LC-36 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 36 LC-46 Space Launch Complex 46 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 21 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 22 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 9 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 10 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 31 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 32 LC-18 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 18 LC-22 LC-17 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 17 LC-26 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 26 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 5 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 6 LC-29 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 29 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 25 LC-30 Cape Canaveral AFS Launch Complex 30
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The Space Launch Complex 40 ( SLC-40 , previously Launch Complex 40 , LC-40) is one of Space Florida powered rocket launch site on the grounds of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Merritt Iceland , Cape Canaveral in Florida , USA .

From here the US Air Force launched Titan IIIC, Titan 34D and Titan IV missiles. Even Martin Marietta started before the introduction of the Titan IV from here Commercial Titan . The ramp has been used for launching Falcon 9 missiles since 2010 .

history

Complex 40 was built along with Complex 41 at the north end of the CCAFS in early 1963 for the launch of Titan IIIC missiles .

The first take-off from the launch pad was the maiden flight of Titan IIIC on June 18, 1965. After many lesser-known missions, a rocket with an unmanned Gemini capsule and a dummy space station flew into space: it was a test flight for the US military MOL space station . However, this flight on November 3, 1966 was the only flight of this project that was later discarded. On May 30, 1974, the ATS-6 satellite launched from here with a Titan 3C, which tested the usefulness of satellite television for developing countries in India, among other places .

Between June 1990 and June 1993, the complex was rebuilt as part of a $ 425 million project so that the newer Titan IV could use the ramp. During the construction work, a Titan III Commercial was able to successfully transport the Mars Observer to the red planet on its last flight . Another important milestone of the interplanetary missions was the start on October 15, 1997, whereby the Cassini-Huygens could be sent to Saturn .

The last launch of a Titan rocket took place on April 30, 2005, in order to launch the surveillance satellite USA 176 into space.

On April 25, 2007, the USAF gave the private company SpaceX permission to launch their Falcon 9 from the SLC-40. As a first measure of the conversion for the Falcon 9, the old launch tower was demolished at the end of 2007 / beginning of 2008. On April 27, 2008, the mobile service tower was blown up. At the end of 2008, the first components of the new launch system structure were delivered and installed. On June 4, 2010, the first launch of a Falcon 9 rocket took place.

Use for titanium missiles

Similar to the space shuttle , the Titan rockets were not assembled on the ramp but in a separate building. The Vertical Integration Building (VIB) was used for this. Here the rocket was assembled except for the payload and the upper stage and driven to the ramp together with a small launch tower and positioned in front of a larger lattice tower.

There was also a huge mobile service tower on the launch site that could enclose the missile. With him the final preparations were made and the upper stage and the payload were placed on the Titan. At launch, the tower was in a parking position a little away from the missile.

Use for Falcon 9

For the Falcon 9, only the fire shaft and the track systems of the former complex were taken over. The complete assembly of the rocket takes place in a new hangar on the premises of the complex in a horizontal position. A few hours before the start, the rocket is then erected over the fire shaft using a steel frame.

Destroyed by a rocket explosion

On September 1, 2016, a Falcon 9 exploded on the launch site during a refueling test. The launch pad of the SLC-40 was badly damaged. Until it was restarted, all SpaceX launches to the east were from the LC-39A launch pad , which has been in use since February 2017. A previously unknown physical phenomenon in connection with the refueling of the frozen liquid oxygen was later identified as the cause of the explosion.

Reconstruction and modernization

SLC-40 received a completely new starting frame, which is the same as on LC-39A, but should be a little narrower. This makes it only suitable for Falcon 9, but not for Falcon Heavy. The repair should initially last until August 2017, but was delayed by several months. As a result, the first launch of the Falcon Heavy was postponed from the LC-39A launch pad, which had yet to be converted, to January 2018 at the earliest.

The SLC-40 launch site was extensively modernized between September 1, 2016 and December 15, 2017:

  • The fire shields were renewed and reinforced. This allows longer tests of all engines of the first stage of the rocket to be carried out. Used rockets can now be tested at the SLC-40 launch site in Florida and no longer have to be transported to McGregor, Texas.
  • Stronger lifting cylinders were installed on the launch tower, which enable the rocket to be raised in one go. Up until now the erection was done in 2 steps.
  • The LOX system has been completely renewed. This allows the liquid oxygen to be compressed and loaded into the rocket faster when it is compressed.
  • Many systems have been renewed and designed redundantly to increase security. Many systems were designed the same as at launch site 39A, so that personnel and equipment can be deployed more easily at both sites.

Since SLC-40 was put back into operation in December 2017, most satellites with Falcon 9 have started again from here, as have the supply flights with the Dragon space transporter to the ISS . Manned flights and the Falcon Heavy are to take off from the LC-39A.

Start list

Status: July 20, 2020

date Time ( UTC ) Missile type serial number Mission / payload
June 18, 1965 14:00 Titan III 3C-7 Transtage 5
October 15, 1965 17:24 Titan III 3C-4 OV-2
3rd November 1966 13:50 Titan III 3C-9 OV-4 / Gemini B
April 8, 1970 10:50 Titan III 3C-18 Vela 6A / Vela 6B
November 6, 1970 10:35 Titan III 3C-19 IMEWS 1
5th May 1971 07:43 Titan III 3C-20 IMEWS 2
3rd November 1971 03:09 Titan III 3C-21 DSCS II F-1 / DSCS II F-2
March 1, 1972 09:39 Titan III 3C-22 IMEWS 3
June 13, 1973 07:14 Titan III 3C-24 IMEWS 4
December 13, 1973 23:57 Titan III 3C-26 DSCS II F-3 / DSCS II F-4
May 30, 1974 13:00 Titan III 3C-27 ATS 6
May 20, 1975 14:03 Titan III 3C-25 DSCS II F-5 / DSCS II F-6
December 14th 1975 05:15 Titan III 3C-29 IMEWS 5
March 15, 1975 01:25 Titan III 3C-30 LES 8 / LES 9 / Solrad 11A / Solrad 11B
June 26, 1976 03:00 Titan III 3C-28 IMEWS 6
February 6, 1977 06:00 Titan III 3C-23 IMEWS 7
May 12, 1977 14:26 Titan III 3C-32 DSCS II F-7 / DSCS II F-8
March 25, 1978 18:09 Titan III 3C-35 DSCS II F-9 / DSCS II F-10
June 10, 1978 19:12 Titan III 3C-33 Chalet 1
December 14, 1978 00:43 Titan III 3C-36 DSCS II F-11 / DSCS II F-12
June 10, 1979 13:39 Titan III 3C-31 IMEWS 10
1st October 1979 11:22 Titan III 3C-34 Chalet 2
November 21, 1979 21:36 Titan III 3C-37 DSCS II F-13 / DSCS II F-14
March 16, 1981 19:24 Titan III 3C-40 IMEWS 11
October 31, 1981 09:22 Titan III 3C-39 Chalet 3
March 6, 1982 19:25 Titan III 3C-38 IMEWS 13
October 30, 1982 03:05 Titanium 34D 34D-1 IUS DSCS II F-15 / DSCS III F-1
January 31, 1984 03:08 Titanium 34D 34D-10 transtage Chalet 4
April 14, 1984 16:52 Titanium 34D 34D-11 transtage DSP MOS / PIM
22nd December 1984 00:02 Titanium 34D 34D-13 Transtage DSP phase 2
November 29, 1987 03:28 Titanium 34D 34D-8 transtage DSP phase 2
2nd September 1988 12:05 Titanium 34D 34D-3 transtage Chalet 5
May 10, 1989 19:47 Titanium 34D 34D-16 transtages Chalet 6
4th September 1989 05:54 Titanium 34D 34D-2 transtages DSCS II F-16 / DSCS III F-4
January 1, 1990 00:07 Commercial titanium CT-1 Skynet 4A / JCSAT 2
March 14, 1990 11:52 Commercial titanium CT-2 Intelsat 6 F-3
June 23, 1990 11:19 Commercial titanium CT-3 Intelsat 6 F-4
September 25, 1992 17:05 Commercial titanium CT-4 Mars Observer
February 7, 1994 21:47 Titan IV 401A K-10 Centaur TC-12 Milstar 1-01
December 22, 1994 22:19 Titan IV 402A K-14 IUS DSP-1 block 14 F17
May 14, 1995 13:45 Titan IV 401A K-23 Centaur TC-17 Orion 1
November 6, 1995 05:15 Titan IV 401A K-21 Centaur TC-13 Milstar 2
3rd July 1996 00:31 Titan IV 405A K-2 SDS-B4
February 23, 1997 20:20 Titan IV 402B K-24 IUS DSP-1 block 18 F18
October 15, 1997 08:43 Titan IV 401B K-33 Centaur Cassini-Huygens
May 9, 1998 01:38 Titan IV 401B K-25 Centaur TC-18 Orion 2
April 30, 1999 16:30 Titan IV 401B K-26 Centaur TC-14 Milstar 2 DFS-3
May 8, 2000 16:01 Titan IV 402B K-29 IUS DSP-1 block 18 F20
February 27, 2001 21:20 Titan IV 401B K-30 Centaur TC-22 Milstar 2 DFS-4
August 6, 2001 07:28 Titan IV 402B IUS DSP-1 block 18 F21
January 16, 2002 00:30 Titan IV 401B Centaur TC-19 Milstar 2 DFS-5
April 8, 2003 13:43 Titan IV 401B Centaur TC-23 Milstar 6
September 9, 2003 04:29 Titan IV 401B Centaur TC-20 NROL-19
February 24, 2004 18:50 Titan IV 402B IUS DSP-1 block 18 F22
April 30, 2005 00:50 Titan IV 405B IUS USA 182
June 4th 2010 18:45 Falcon 9 v1.0 F9-1 Dragon mockup
December 8, 2010 05:43 Falcon 9 v1.0 F9-2 Dragon COTS-1
May 22, 2012 07:44 Falcon 9 v1.0 F9-3 Dragon COTS-2
October 8, 2012 00:35 Falcon 9 v1.0 F9-4 Dragon CRS-1
1st of March 2013 15:10 Falcon 9 v1.0 F9-5 Dragon CRS-2
3rd December 2013 22:41 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-7 SES 8
January 6, 2014 22:06 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-8 Thaicom 6
April 18, 2014 19:25 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-9 Dragon CRS-3
July 14, 2014 15:15 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-10 Six telecommunications satellites for Orbcomm
5th August 2014 08:00 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-11 AsiaSat 8
September 7, 2014 05:00 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-12 AsiaSat 6
September 21, 2014 05:52 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-13 Dragon CRS-4
January 10, 2015 09:47 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-14 Dragon CRS-5
February 11, 2015 23:03 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-15 DSCOVR
March 2, 2015 03:50 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-16 Eutelsat 115 West B, ABS 3A
April 14, 2015 20:10 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-17 Dragon CRS-6
April 27, 2015 23:03 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-18 TurkmenAlem52E / MonacoSat 1
June 28, 2015 14:21 Falcon 9 v1.1 F9-19 Dragon CRS-7 with IDA-1
December 22, 2015 01:29 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-20 Eleven telecommunications satellites for Orbcomm
4th March 2016 23:35 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-22 SES-9 communications satellite
April 8, 2016 20:43 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-23 Dragon CRS-8 with the inflatable ISS module BEAM in the pressureless cargo compartment
May 6, 2016 05:21 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-24 Japanese communications satellite JCSAT-14
May 27, 2016 21:39 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-25 Communications satellite Thaicom 8
June 15, 2016 14:29 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-26 Communication satellites Eutelsat 117 West B and ABS 2A
18th July 2016 04:45 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-27 Dragon CRS-9 to the ISS with IDA-2
August 14, 2016 05:26 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-28 Japanese communications satellite JCSAT-16
15th December 2017 15:36 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-45 Dragon CRS-13
January 8, 2018 01:00 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-47 Zuma
January 31, 2018 21:25 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-48 GovSat-1
March 6, 2018 05:33 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-50 Hispasat 30W-6
2nd April 2018 20:30 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-52 Dragon CRS-14
April 18, 2018 22:51 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-53 TESS
4th June 2018 04:45 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-56 SES-12
June 29, 2018 09:42 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-57 Dragon CRS-15
July 22, 2018 05:50 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-58 Telstar 19V
7th August 2018 05:18 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-60 Merah Putih
September 10, 2018 04:45 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-61 Telstar 18V
5th December 2018 18:16 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-65 Dragon CRS-16
23 December 2018 13:51 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-66 GPS IIIA-1
February 22, 2019 01:45 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-68 Nusantara Satu , S5 and Beresheet
4th May 2019 06:48 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-70 Dragon CRS-17
May 24, 2019 02:30 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-71 Starlink 1
July 25, 2019 22:02 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-73 Dragon CRS-18
August 6, 2019 23:23 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-74 Amos 17th
November 11, 2019 14:56 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-75 Starlink 1 (v1.0)
5th December 2019 17:29 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-76 Dragon CRS-19
17th December 2019 00:10 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-77 JCSAT-18 / Kacific 1
January 7, 2020 02:19 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-78 Starlink 2 (v1.0)
January 29, 2020 14:06 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-80 Starlink 3 (v1.0)
17th February 2020 15:05 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-81 Starlink 4 (v1.0)
March 7, 2020 04:50 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-82 Dragon CRS-20
4th June 2020 01:25 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-86 Starlink 7 (v1.0)
June 13, 2020 09:21 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-87 Starlink 8 (v1.0) and SkySat 16-18
June 30, 2020 20:10 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-88 GPS IIIA-3
20th July 2020 21:30 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-89 Anasis-II

gallery

  • The construction of Cassini's Titan begins with the first stage

  • Then the second stage is mounted on this.

  • Cassini's Titan rolls out of the VIB

  • The Titan intended for the Cassini rolls to the starting position

  • The Centaur upper stage is assembled

  • The payload fairing is slipped over Cassini-Huygens

  • The mobile tower moves into the parking position

  • The Titan 4B on the launch pad before takeoff

  • Cassini's Titan IV-B starts from position 40

  • Launch Complex 40 after the conversion for the Falcon 9

  • A Falcon 9 takes off on December 8, 2010 with a Dragon capsule

  • After a test, a Falcon 9 is being prepared for transport from the launch pad to the hangar

  • Launch of the third Falcon 9 with a Dragon spaceship to the ISS

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cape Canaveral Spaceport Master Plan. (pdf) Spaceport Florida, January 2017, accessed on March 18, 2019 .
  2. ^ SpaceX cleared for Cape launches. Florida Today, April 25, 2007, accessed September 4, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Justin Ray: Old Titan launch pad gantry at Cape knocked down. Spaceflight Now, April 28, 2008, accessed January 13, 2009 .
  4. ↑ VIB
  5. ↑ Chris Bergin: SpaceX Static Fires Falcon 9 for EchoStar 23 launch as SLC-40 targets return. NASASpaceFlight.com, March 9, 2017, accessed March 25, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Debut of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket now planned early next year. November 28, 2017, accessed November 30, 2017 .
  7. ^ SpaceX: CRS-13 Hosted Webcast. December 15, 2017, accessed on December 16, 2017 : “In the SpaceX video T-11:31 to T-9: 40, so 11 minutes 31 seconds to 9 minutes 40 seconds before the start: Tom Prederio explains details about the modernization of LC40. - Video starts at around T- 7:40. please rewind 4 minutes to T- 11:30 "

Web links