![]() ![]() This effort was integral to the construction of the International Space Station and ended when Atlantis landed at KSC on July 21, 2011. ![]() These include those in the space shuttle program, in which the shuttles Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour performed 135 journeys of human crews and cargo to orbit between 19. Myriad other historic space missions have been staged at KSC. The last Saturn V launch took place at launchpad 39A on May 14, 1973, lifting the first U.S. Less than two years later, the Apollo 11 mission would also blast off from 39A, carrying the first humans to land on the moon: Neil Armstrong, “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins. The site was part of the Apollo program 39A staged the Apollo 4 mission and the first flight of the 363-foot-tall (111 m) Saturn V rocket on Nov. Launch Complex 39 consists of three launchpads - 39A, 39B and 39C - and is one of the most important launch sites in the history of U.S. The Shuttle Landing Facility is currently operated by Space Florida (Florida's aerospace economic development agency) and provides a horizontal launch capability. The FAA adds that Launch Complex 48 is the third orbital-to-suborbital-class launchpad at KSC that can support small- to medium-class launch vehicles. Launch Complexes 48 and 49 are both inactive, with SpaceX having requested use of the latter, according to NASA. In addition to serving as NASA's main launch site, KSC is home to facilities that conduct research and development needed for the next era of space exploration, which will see human crews working and living on the surface of the moon and possibly other bodies in the solar system.Īccording to the FAA, as of 2021, there are two orbital-class launchpads supporting heavy to super-heavy launch vehicles at KSC: Launch Complex 39A, currently operated by SpaceX, and Launch Complex 39B, operated by NASA. Kennedy Space Center is located on Merritt Island, Florida, just north of Cape Canaveral, and is operated by NASA. (Image credit: SpaceX) What happens at Kennedy Space Center? 21, 2014, carrying supplies and experiments aboard a Dragon spacecraft to astronauts on the International Space Station. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida the night of Sept. First craft to leave the solar system ( Voyager 1, launched in 1977 and left the solar system in 2012).First spacecraft to orbit Mercury (MESSENGER, launched in 2004 and entered orbit in 2011).First spacecraft to orbit Saturn (Cassini, launched in 1997 and arrived in 2004).First craft to orbit Mars (Mariner 9, in 1971).First crewed mission to land on the moon (Apollo 11, in 1969).two-person and three-person missions (Gemini 3, in 1965, and Apollo 7, in 1968, respectively) Other Cape Canaveral launch milestones include the following firsts: In 1961, as part of the Project Mercury program, Alan Shepard became the first American to reach space, blasting off from Launch Pad 5 in the Freedom 7 spacecraft atop the Redstone rocket. satellite, Explorer 1, launched atop the Juno booster from Launch Complex 26 at the base, which, in 1964, was developed into USAF Space Museum, now the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum. ĬCSFS is responsible for a number of firsts. The first suborbital rocket launch from CCSFS occurred in 1956, with Jupiter A launching on July 19 from Launch Complex 5. Its fellow launchpad, SLC 37A, was never used and remains inactive, according to. Four years after the construction of the launchpad began in 1959, SLC 37B became part of the Apollo program, with eight Saturn rocket launches staged there. Near its launch complexes, the base features a 10,000-foot (3,000-meter) runway that can be used by military aircraft and for the delivery of large payloads to the cape.Ĭurrently, SLC 37B is used by United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Delta IV rocket program, but it has served an important role in space history. Three inactive launchpads have been leased to four commercial customers for future use. The station currently operates as the primary launch site of the Eastern Range spaceport.Īccording to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the facility currently has four active launchpads and two active landing pads, including Space Launch Complexes (SLC) 37, 40 and 41. Department of Defense and operated by the U.S. (Image credit: ULA)ĬCSFS is owned by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-68. ![]() ![]() EDT (0918 GMT), on a mission for the U.S. The Delta IV Heavy lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 5:18 a.m. ![]()
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