Aerial view of Launch Complex 39, showing the Vehicle Assembly Building (front), and launch pads 39B (back left) and 39A (back right)
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Launch site | Kennedy Space Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location | 28°36′30.2″N 80°36′15.6″W / 28.608389°N 80.604333°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short name | LC-39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | NASA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total launches | 160 (13 Saturn V, 4 Saturn IB, 135 Shuttle, 1 Ares I, 7 Falcon 9), as of June 25, 2017[update] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Launch pad(s) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Min / max orbital inclination |
28°–62° | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pad 39A launch history | |
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Status | Active |
Launches | 101 (12 Saturn V, 82 Shuttle, 7 Falcon 9) |
First launch | November 9, 1967 Saturn V / Apollo 4 |
Last launch | June 23, 2017 Falcon 9 / BulgariaSat-1 |
Associated rockets |
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Pad 39B launch history | |
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Status | Facility modifications underway for late 2018 SLS launch |
Launches | 59 (1 Saturn V, 4 Saturn IB, 53 Shuttle, 1 Ares I-X) |
First launch | May 18, 1969 Saturn V / Apollo 10 |
Last launch | October 28, 2009 Ares I-X |
Associated rockets |
Pad 39C launch history | |
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Status | Completed June 2015 |
Launches | To be determined |
Associated rockets |
Small class vehicles |
Launch Complex 39
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Location | John F. Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida |
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Area | 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) |
Built | 1967 |
MPS | John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS |
NRHP Reference # | 73000568 |
Added to NRHP | May 24, 1973 |
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified for the Space Shuttle program. As of 2017, only Launch Complex 39A is active, launching SpaceX's Falcon 9. LC-39 is also being modified to support launches of the SpaceX's Dragon 2 and Falcon Heavy, as well as NASA's Space Launch System, with a new, smaller pad, C, added to support smaller launches.
Launch Complex 39 is composed of three launch pads—39A, 39B and 39C, a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a Crawlerway used by crawler-transporters to carry Mobile Launcher Platforms between the VAB and the pads, Orbiter Processing Facility buildings, a Launch Control Center which contains the firing rooms, a news facility famous for the iconic countdown clock seen in television coverage and photos, and various logistical and operational support buildings.
SpaceX leases Launch Pad 39A from NASA and has modified the pad to support Falcon Heavy launches in 2017 and beyond.NASA began modifying Launch Pad 39B in 2007 to accommodate the now defunct Project Constellation, and is currently preparing it for the Space Launch System with first launch scheduled for 2018. Pad C was originally planned but never built for Apollo, and would have been a copy of pads 39A and 39B. A smaller pad, designated 39C was constructed from January to June 2015 to accommodate small-class vehicles.