American space launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA
Space Launch Complex 41
(
SLC-41
), previously
Launch Complex 41
(
LC-41
), is an active
launch site
at
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
.
[1]
[2]
As of 2024, the site is used by
United Launch Alliance
(ULA) for
Atlas V
and
Vulcan Centaur
launches. Previously, it had been used by the
USAF
for
Titan III
and
Titan IV
launches.
Atlas V
[
edit
]
After the last Titan launch, the complex was renovated to support the
Atlas V
. SLC-41 was the site of the first-ever Atlas V launch on 21 August 2002, lifting
Hot Bird 6
, a
Eutelsat
geostationary communications spacecraft built around a
Spacebus
3000B3 bus.
[3]
[4]
Atlas V rockets are assembled vertically on a
mobile launcher platform
(MLP) in the
Vertical Integration Facility
, located to the south of the pad. The MLP is transported to the launch pad on rails about a day before launch.
[5]
Modifications for supporting human spaceflight
[
edit
]
In September 2015, pad modifications began to support
human spaceflight
with the
Boeing CST-100 Starliner
.
[6]
[7]
Modifications include the addition of a launch service tower to provide access to the capsule for "pre-launch processing, crew access, and safety egress systems should the need to evacuate Starliner on the pad occur".
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Notable payloads
[
edit
]
In addition to satellites, Titan vehicles launched several probes from LC-41 in the 1970s, including the
Helios probes
to study the
Sun
, the
Viking
probes to Mars, and the
Voyager
planetary flyby and deep-space probes. More recent probes have also been launched from LC-41 using the Atlas V: the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
in August 2005, the
New Horizons
spacecraft to
Pluto
in January 2006, the
Juno
mission to
Jupiter
in August 2011,
[8]
and the
Mars
rover missions;
Mars Science Laboratory
in November 2011, and
Mars 2020
in July 2020.
[9]
[10]
Titan III
[
edit
]
The Titan III launch facilities at CCAFS were built as part of an Integrate-Transfer-Launch approach intended to enable a rapid launch rate. Titan vehicles were assembled and integrated with their payloads on mobile platforms in separate buildings, then moved by rail to one of two launch pads. The Titan III facilities included LC-40, LC-41, assembly buildings including the
Vertical Integration Building
, and the first rail line at the Cape.
[11]
The facilities were completed in 1964, and the first launch from LC-41 was of a
Titan IIIC
carrying four separate payloads on 21 December 1965.
[12]
The Titan III facility at Complex 41 was deactivated in late 1977.
[13]
Titan IV
[
edit
]
In 1986 the existing mobile service tower (MST) and umbilical tower (UT) were both stripped down to their main structural components which were then refurbished, modified, and added to, as part of Martin Marietta's "tear-out and refurbish" contracts which modified and prepared the launch pad for the
Titan IV
rocket.
[13]
LC-41 launched the first flight of the Titan IV. The last Titan launch from LC-41 was on 9 April 1999, when a Titan IVB launched the
USA 142
early warning satellite
. The
IUS
upper stage failed to separate, leaving the payload stranded in a useless
GTO
orbit.
[14]
Launch history
[
edit
]
Rocket configuration
[
edit
]
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
McDowell, Jonathan (1998-02-22).
"Issue 350"
.
Jonathan's Space Report
. Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from
the original
on 2010-05-03
. Retrieved
2009-07-09
.
- ^
USAF Supports NASA's Dual Lunar Exploratory Missions
Archived
June 13, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Atlas V Roars Into Orbit On Maiden Flight With A HotBird"
. Spacedaily.com. Aug 21, 2002
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
- ^
Krebs, Gunter D.
"Hotbird 6 → Hotbird 13A → Eutelsat 8 West C → Eutelsat 33D → Eutelsat 70D"
. Gunter's Space Page
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
- ^
"NROL-101 Launch Press Kit"
(PDF)
. National Reconnaissance Office. October 29, 2020
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Gebhardt, Chris (2015-10-08).
"Canaveral and KSC pads: New designs for space access"
.
NASASpaceFlight.com
. Retrieved
2015-10-11
.
- ^
"Crew tower rising at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41"
.
- ^
45th Space Wing Supports Successful Atlas V Juno Launch
- ^
The Associated Press (November 26, 2011).
"NASA Launches Sophisticated Rover on Journey to Mars"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 26,
2011
.
- ^
NASA Offers Media Access To Mars-Bound Rover On Aug. 12
- ^
Roy McCullough (September 2001).
"Missiles at the Cape"
. US Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from
the original
on January 29, 2016.
- ^
"Complex 41 / LC-41"
. GlobalSecurity.org
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Launch Complex 41 (active)"
. Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
- ^
"Titan 402B/IUS"
. astronautix.com
. Retrieved
November 26,
2022
.
External links
[
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]
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
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Launch sites
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Under construction
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Landing sites
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