Kodiak Launch Complex
The Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) is a commercial rocket launch facility for sub-orbital and orbital space launch vehicles owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a public corporation of the State of Alaska.[1][2] The facility is located on Kodiak Island, Alaska.
The launch facility has handled 14 launches since it opened in 1991—most of those for the US government, with 100 percent success rate to date. As of April 2010[update], two launches are planned for 2010.[3][4]
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[edit] Launch facilities
The Kodiak spaceport has two launch pads with a mission control center that includes 64 workstations with high-speed communications and data links. There is a clean room for preparing satellites for launch, a fully enclosed 17-story-tall rocket assembly building and two independent range and telemetry systems. The complex sits on 3,700 acres (15 km2) of state-owned land. A third launch pad is planned which would allow the facility to support quick launches of satellites: under 24 hours to launch from 'go ahead'.[3]
[edit] Launch history
The first orbital launch from the Kodiak Launch Complex was an Athena I rocket which carried out the Kodiak Star mission for NASA and the Space Test Program, launching Starshine 3, Sapphire, PCSat, and PICOSatS on September 30, 2001.[5]
| Launch | Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Launch pad | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30, 2001 | Athena I | Starshine 3, Sapphire, PCSat, and PICOSat | Pad ?? | Success | |
| 14 | November 19, 2010 06:48 | Minotaur IV | FASTSAT, STPSat 2, Radio Aurora Explorer, O/OREOS CubeSat | Pad ?? | Success | [4] |
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[edit] References
- ^ Alaska Aerospace Corporation—History and Organization, 2009, accessed 2010-04-26.
- ^ "Kodiak Readies for Quick Launch". Aviation Week. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/video/?fr_story=79de6a57e6c5f464b63870eed8c6162caeeac501&rf=rss.
- ^ a b Kodiak Readies for Quick Launch, Aviation Week, April 2010, accessed 2010-04-26. "Alaska's remote Kodiak Launch Complex is state-of-the-art, has a perfect mission record, and will soon be able to launch a satellite-carrying rocket within 24 hours of mission go-ahead."
- ^ a b NASA Launches Nanosatellite to Study Life in Space, Technology Review, November 2010, accessed 2011-03-30. "The tiny propellant-free satellite will conduct astrobiology research. "
- ^ NASA: Kodiak Star 2001
[edit] External links
- Alaska Aerospace Corporation
- Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Annual Reports from 2002 to present hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Economic impact of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation on the Kodiak Island Borough and the State of Alaska 2006 hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Environmental monitoring report, FTG-02 launch : Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak, Alaska / prepared for Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (2007) hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Environmental monitoring report, FT-04-1 launch : Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak, Alaska (2006) hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
Coordinates: 57°26′09″N 152°20′16″W / 57.435833°N 152.337778°W
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