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The construction of a launch pad begins with site selection, considering various geographical and logistical factors. It is often advantageous to position the launch pad on the coast, particularly with the ocean to the east, to leverage the Earth's rotation and increase the specific impulse of launches.
Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is the first of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.The pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, was first constructed in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V launch vehicle, and has been used to support NASA crewed space flight missions, including the historic Apollo 11 moon landing and the Space Shuttle.
As of early 2023, the new launch pad is still undergoing construction and will accommodate launch operations for the fully stacked Starship rocket. Starship will lift off under the power of 33 Raptor engines, with each engine producing 500,000 lbf of force each, or 16,500,000 lbf for the whole vehicle.
The launch site has two launch pads, Orbital Launch Pad A (OLP-A) and B (OLP-B), [104]: 34 each equipped with an orbital launch mount (OLM), an integration tower (nicknamed "Mechazilla" by SpaceX [105]) and other support structures. [104] The OLM is the structure that provides support the Super Heavy booster when it is on the launch pad.
Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) is the second of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.The pad, along with Launch Complex 39A, was first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle, which at the time was the United States' most powerful rocket.
The construction of LC-48 began in November 2019 but was halted in March 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Construction was resumed in June 2020, with the completion of the first pad in October 2020. [2] LC-48 is designed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs.
LC-36 was originally constructed by the US government in the early 1960s in order to launch the Atlas-Centaur rocket, with first launch in May 1962. [5]LC-36A was the scene of the biggest on-pad explosion in Cape history when Atlas-Centaur AC-5 fell back onto the pad on March 2, 1965.
Space Launch Complex 9 (SLC-9) is a planned launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States.Currently a greenfield, it is leased to Blue Origin as part of their plans to have a Western Range site for their New Glenn launch vehicle, joining Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. [1]