Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40

Space Launch Complex 40

A Titan IV rocket with the Cassini–Huygens payload, in 1997.
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	55
Launch pad(s)	1
Orbital inclination range	28° - 57°
Launch history Status Active First launch Titan IIIC, 18 June 1965 Last launch Lacrosse-5, 30 April 2005 Associated rockets Titan III Titan 34D Titan IV Falcon 9 (future)

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 (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 SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Titan

The first launch from LC-40 was the maiden flight of the Titan IIIC (1965-06-18), carrying two transtage upper stages to test the functionality of the vehicle.

Two interplanetary missions were launched from the pad:

• The failed Mars Observer spacecraft (1992-09-25).
• The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn (1997-10-15).

The final Titan launch from SLC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite (Titan IVB, 2005-04-30).

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 2008-04-27 by Controlled Demolition, Inc .

Falcon

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 2009-01-10. It is expected to launch in 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 2010.

Commercial crew upgrades

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.