Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad at the north end of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was used by the United States Air Force for Titan III and Titan IV launches between 1965 and 2005.

On April 25, 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket.

Titan

The first launch from LC-40 was the maiden flight of the Titan IIIC (June 18, 1965), carrying two transtage upper stages to test the functionality of the vehicle.

Two interplanetary missions were launched from the pad:

• The failed Mars Observer spacecraft (September 25, 1992)
• The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn (October 15, 1997)

The final Titan launch from SLC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite (Titan IV-B, April 30, 2005).

The tower was disassembled during late 2007 and early 2008. Demolition of the Mobile Service Structure (MSS), by means of a controlled explosion, occurred on April 27, 2008, by Controlled Demolition, Inc.

Falcon

During April 2008, construction started on the ground facilities necessary to support the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Renovations include installation of new liquid oxygen and kerosene tanks and construction of a hangar for rocket and payload preparation.

The first Falcon 9 rocket arrived at SLC-40 in late 2008, and was erected for the first time on January 10,...
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