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Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40
Rocket launch site in Florida, US / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Space Launch Complex 40[1][2] (SLC-40), sometimes pronounced Slick Forty[3] and previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad for rockets located at the north end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
![]() SLC-40 during launch of Cygnus NG-20 in January 2024 with the newly constructed Crew Access Tower and Arm for future crewed launches | |||||||||||
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Launch site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | ||||||||||
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Location | 28.562106°N 80.577180°W / 28.562106; -80.577180 | ||||||||||
Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) | ||||||||||
UTC−04:00 (EDT) | |||||||||||
Short name | SLC-40 | ||||||||||
Operator |
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Total launches | 251 | ||||||||||
Orbital inclination range | 28–98° | ||||||||||
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The launch pad was used by the United States Air Force for 55 Titan III and Titan IV launches between 1965 and 2005.[4] The facility underwent multiple upgrades including the design and construction of towers with retractable and foldable platforms for vehicle assembly, instrumentation and monitoring.[5]
After 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket.[6] As of March 2024, there have been 174 launches of the Falcon 9 from the complex.[7] The site was heavily damaged following the September 2016 static fire incident,[8] due to a catastrophic failure during the test.[9] The complex was repaired and returned to operational status in December 2017 for the CRS-13 mission.[10] Later, a Crew Access Tower and Arm was added in third quarter of 2023 to supplement SpaceX Dragon 2 operations at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.[11]