thumb|Map of launch complexes on [[Merritt Island, Florida|Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral]]
thumb|Looking east, left-right: LC-41, LC-40, (center) LC-37B, Harrison Island, Vertical Integration Facility, and the ITL Warehouse on CCAFS in 2005
Cape Canaveral and adjacent Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast are home to the USA's Eastern Range, the most active rocket range and spaceport in the country. The Eastern Range hosts two groundside operators: the military Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the civilian Kennedy Space Center. Between them are dozens of launch pads, with several currently in active service and more in planning for activation.
List
Key
Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, operated by NASA, has two launch complexes on Merritt Island comprising three pads—two active (with one under lease) and one inactive. From 1967 to 1975, it was the site of 13 Saturn V launches, three crewed Skylab flights and the Apollo–Soyuz; all Space Shuttle flights from 1981 to 2011, and one Ares 1-X flight in 2009. Since 2017, SpaceX uses Launch Complex 39A to launch their launch vehicles.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!Site
!Status
!Tenant
!Uses
!Notable Launches
!Coordinates
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
|Launch Complex 39A
|Active
|SpaceX
|Current: Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy<br>Future: Starship<br>Retired: Saturn V, Space Shuttle<br>Cancelled: Ares V<br/>The launch site of all six crewed lunar landing missions of the Apollo Program.
|Apollo 4, Apollo 8, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo 17, Skylab, STS-1, STS-7, STS-71, STS-88, STS-107, STS-135, Falcon Heavy test flight, Crew Dragon Demo-2, Inspiration4, Psyche, Europa Clipper
|
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
|Launch Complex 39B
|Active
|NASA
|Current: Space Launch System<br>Retired: Saturn V, Saturn IB, Space Shuttle, Ares I-X<br>Cancelled: Ares I, OmegA<br/>The launch site of the Challenger disaster.
|Apollo 10, Skylab 2, Skylab 3, Skylab 4, Apollo-Soyuz, STS-51L, STS-34, STS-31, STS-93, Artemis I, Artemis II
|
|-bgcolor=lightgrey
|Launch Complex 39C
| colspan="2" |Unbuilt
|Located within LC-39B. It was intended to be used for small-lift launch vehicles and as a general multipurpose launch site. Abandoned in 2016 in favor of building LC-48.
|
|
|-
| Launch Complex 48
| colspan="2" | Inactive
| LC-48 is designed as a "clean pad" (a reconfigurable facility with no permanent structures) to support various small-lift launch vehicles. It is awaiting its first customer.
|
|
|-bgcolor=lightgrey
|Launch Complex 49
| colspan="2" | Unbuilt
| Cancelled: Starship<br>Plans were suspended in 2024.
|
|
|}
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), operated by Space Launch Delta 45 of the U.S. Space Force, was the site of all U.S. crewed launches before Apollo 8, as well as many other early Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA launches. For the DoD, it plays a secondary role to Vandenberg SFB in California, but is the launch site for many NASA uncrewed space probes, as those spacecraft are typically launched on United States Space Force launchers. Much of the support activity for CCSFS occurs at Patrick Space Force Base to the south, its reporting base.
Active sites
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!Site
!Tenant
!Uses
!Notable Launches
!Coordinates
|- bgcolor=honeydew
|Launch Complex 11
| rowspan="2" |Blue Origin
|Current: BE-4 test stand<br>Retired: Atlas<br>Part of larger site which includes LC-36.
|SCORE
|
|- bgcolor=honeydew
|Launch Complex 12
|Current: Storage area for New Glenn<br>Retired: Atlas, Atlas-Able, Atlas-Agena
|Mariner 2, Ranger 7, Mariner 4, Mariner 5
|
|- bgcolor=honeydew
|Launch Complex 13
|Phantom Space and Vaya Space (de jure)<br>SpaceX (de facto)
|Current: Falcon Heavy landings<br>Future: Daytona I, Dauntless<br>Retired: Atlas, Atlas Agena, Falcon 9 landings
|Mariner 3, Lunar Orbiter 1, Orbcomm OG2 M2 (landing), Falcon Heavy test flight (landing)
|
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
|Launch Complex 36
|Blue Origin
|Current: New Glenn 7×2
|Blue Ring Pathfinder, ESCAPADE
|
|- bgcolor="lightgreen"
|Space Launch Complex 40
|SpaceX
|Current: Falcon 9<br>Retired: Titan IIIC, Titan 34D, Commercial Titan III, Titan IV
|OPS 0855, ATS-6, Mars Observer, Cassini-Huygens, Dragon C2+, DSCOVR, TESS, Beresheet, Euclid, Hera, SpaceX Crew-9
|
|- bgcolor="lightgreen"
|Space Launch Complex 41
|United Launch Alliance
|Current: Atlas V, Vulcan Centaur<br>Retired: Titan IIIC, Titan IIIE, Titan IV
|OPS 6911, Helios 1 & 2, Voyager 1 & 2, Viking 1 & 2, New Horizons, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Juno, Mars Science Laboratory, Mars 2020, Lucy, Peregrine Mission One, Boeing Crew Flight Test
|
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
|Space Launch Complex 46
|Space Florida
|Current: Dark Eagle<br/>Future: Rocket 4/5<br>Retired: Trident II, Athena II, Athena I, Minotaur IV, Orion Abort Test Booster, Rocket 3<br>SLC-46 is a clean pad.
|Lunar Prospector, Ascent Abort-2
|
|}
Sites leased for future use
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!width=125|Site
!Tenant
!Uses
!Notable Launches
!Coordinates
|-bgcolor=lightblue
|Launch Complex 14
|Stoke Space
|Future: Nova
|Future: Terran R<br>Retired: Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a, Pershing II, Terran 1
|Future: Alpha, Eclipse<br>Retired: Titan I, Titan IIIA, Starbird, Prospector, Aries, LCLV, Super Loki
|LES-1, LCS-1
|
|-bgcolor=lightblue
|Launch Complex 37A
| rowspan="2" |SpaceX
|Future: Starship<br>Cancelled: Saturn I, Saturn IB<br>Pad has never been used.
|
| rowspan="2" |
|-bgcolor=lightblue
|Space Launch Complex 37B
|Future: Starship<br>Retired: Saturn I, Saturn IB, Delta IV, Delta IV Heavy
|SA-5, AS-101, AS-105, Apollo 5, Exploration Flight Test-1, Parker Solar Probe
|}
Inactive and previously used sites
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! width="125" |Site
! Status
! Uses
!Notable Launches
!Coordinates
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex A<br>Launch Complex B<br>Launch Complex C<br>Launch Complex D
|Demolished
|Retired: Matador<br>LC-46 now sits on the site.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 1
|Inactive
|Retired: Snark, Matador, Aerostat
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 2
|Inactive
|Retired: Snark, Matador, Aerostat
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 3
|Inactive
|Retired: Bumper-WAC, BOMARC, Polaris, X-17
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 4
|Inactive
|Retired: BOMARC, Redstone, Matador, Jason, Draco
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 4A
|Inactive
|Retired: BOMARC
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 5
|Inactive
|Retired: Jupiter-C, Redstone, Mercury-Redstone.<br>The site of all six crewed and uncrewed Mercury-Redstone launches used for Project Mercury. Now part of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
|Pioneer 4, Mercury-Redstone 1, Mercury-Redstone 3, Mercury-Redstone 4
|
|-
|Launch Complex 6
|Inactive
|Retired: Redstone, Jupiter<br>Now part of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 7<br>Launch Complex 8
|Unbuilt
|Would have joined LC-1/2/3/4. No assigned missile assigned to pad, though likely would launch missiles like Snark and Matador. Located at present site of Central Control Road.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 9
|Inactive
|Retired: Navaho
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 10
|Demolished
|Retired: Jason, Draco, Nike Tomahawk<br>Demolished to make way for LC-31 and LC-32.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 15
|Inactive
|Retired: Titan I, Titan II<br>Cancelled: RS1
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 29
|Inactive
|Retired: Polaris
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 30A
|Inactive
|Retired: Pershing 1
|
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|Launch Complex 30B
|Inactive
|Cancelled: Pershing 1<br>Pad has never been built.
|
|-
|Launch Complex 31
|Inactive
|Retired: Minuteman, Pershing 1a<br>Used as a burial vault for pieces of Space Shuttle Challenger.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 32
|Inactive
|Retired: Minuteman
|
|
|-bgcolor=lightgrey
|Launch Complex 33
|Unbuilt
|Cancelled: Titan III X-20<br>Never built due to cancellation of the Dyna Soar program. SLC-37 now sits on the site.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 34
|Inactive
|Retired: Saturn I, Saturn IB<br>Site of the Apollo 1 fire.
|SA-1, AS-201, Apollo 7
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 35
|Unbuilt
|Cancelled: Navaho<br>Not built due to the cancellation of the Navaho program.
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 36A
|Refurbished by Blue Origin, LLC
|Retired: Atlas-Centaur,
|Surveyor 1, Mariner 7, Pioneer 10, Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Pioneer Venus Multiprobe
| rowspan="2" |
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 36B
|Demolished
|Retired: Atlas-Centaur, Atlas G, Atlas I, Atlas II, Atlas III
|Surveyor 3, OAO-2, Mariner 6, Mariner 9, Pioneer 11, Mariner 10, SOHO
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 38
|Unbuilt
|Cancelled: Atlas-Agena, Atlas-Centaur<br>Proposed for several Atlas variants, never had any specific location selected.
|
|N/A
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 42
|Unbuilt
|Cancelled: Titan IIIC<br>Proposed as a third pad to the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex. Cancelled because it would have been too close to LC-39A.
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 43
|Demolished
|Retired: Super Loki<br>Demolished to make way for SLC-46.
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 44
|Demolished
|Retired: Dragon<br>Demolished to make way for the submarine facility at Port Canaveral.
|
|
|- bgcolor="lightgrey"
|Launch Complex 45
|Demolished
|Cancelled: Roland<br>Construction plans scrapped before any missiles were launched. LC-46 now sits on the site.
|
|
|-
|Launch Complex 47
|Inactive
|Retired: Sounding Rockets, Super Loki, Super Loki Lite Star, LOFT-1
|
|
|}
Other sites
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Site
! Status
! Uses
!Coordinates
|-
| Atlantic Missile Range drop zone
| Inactive
| Retired: High Virgo, Bold Orion, Hound Dog, Skybolt
|
|-
| Grand Turk Auxiliary AFB, Grand Turk Island drop zone
| Inactive
| Retired: Arcas (All-Purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Soundings)
|
|-
| Mobile Launch Area
| Inactive
| Retired: Lark, Matador, Snark
|
|- bgcolor=honeydew
|Landing Zone 40
|Active
|Current: Falcon 9 landings, Falcon Heavy landings
|
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
| Eastern SLBM Launch Area<!-- redlink Eastern SLBM Launch Area-->
| Active
| Current: Trident II<br>Retired: Polaris, Poseidon, Trident
|
|- bgcolor=honeydew
| Shuttle Landing Facility<br>(Launch and Landing Facility)
| Active
| Current: X-37B landings<br>Future: Dream Chaser landings<br>Retired: Space Shuttle landings, Pegasus
|
|- bgcolor=lightgreen
| Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Skid Strip
| Active
| Current: Pegasus XL<br>Retired: Navaho, Pegasus
|
|-
| Patrick Space Force Base
| Inactive
| Retired: Matador
|
|}
See also
- Air Force Space and Missile Museum
- List of Vandenberg Space Force Base launch facilities
Notes
References
External links
- Encyclopedia Astronautica entry
- Google Earth Merritt Island Tour