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Launch

362 'Launch' stories March 2020 - March 2022
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Table of contents

List of launch sites by country

United States of America

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Active and Planned
  • SLC-11
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-12 and SLC-36)
  • SLC-12
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Able (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-11 and SLC-36)
  • SLC-13
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • SpaceX LZ-1
    • SpaceX LZ-2
    • Daytona I (Planned)
    • Dauntless (Planned)
  • SLC-14
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Mercury-Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • Nova (Planned)
  • SLC-16
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II (Historically)
    • Pershing 1a (Historically)
    • Pershing II (Historically)
    • Terran 1 (Historically)
    • Terran R (Planned)
  • SLC-20
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Alpha (Planned)
    • Medium Launch Vehicle (Planned)
  • LC-36
    • Demolished Sites
      • SLC-36A
        • Atlas-Centaur (Historically)
        • Atlas II (Historically)
      • SLC-36B
        • Atlas-Centaur (Historically)
        • Atlas I (Historically)
        • Atlas II (Historically)
        • Atlas III (Historically)
    • Combined Site
      • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-11 and 12)
  • SLC-40
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Titan IV (Historically)
    • Falcon 9
  • SLC-41
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Titan IV (Historically)
    • Atlas V
    • Vulcan
  • SLC-46
    • Trident II (Historically)
    • Athena I (Historically)
    • Athena II (Historically)
    • Minotaur IV (Historically)
    • Rocket 3 (Historically)
    • Future Astra Rocket (Planned)
Inactive
  • SLC-1
    • Snark (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Aerosat (Historically)
  • SLC-2
    • Snark (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Aerosat (Historically)
  • SLC-3
    • Bumper-WAC (Historically)
    • BOMARC (Historically)
    • Polaris (Historically)
    • X-17 (Historically)
  • SLC-4
    • SLC-4A (Second pad)
      • BOMARC (Historically)
    • BOMARC (Historically)
    • Redstone (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Jason (Historically)
    • Draco (Historically)
  • SLC-5
    • Jupiter-C (Historically)
    • Mercury (Historically)
    • Mercury-Redstone (Historically)
  • SLC-6
    • Redstone (Historically)
    • Jupiter (Historically)
  • SLC-9
    • Navaho (Historically)
  • SLC-15
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II (Historically)
    • RS1 (Cancelled)
  • SLC-18
    • Viking (Historically)
    • Vanguard (Historically)
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Blue Scout Junior (Historically)
    • Blue Scout (Historically)
  • SLC-19
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II – Gemini
  • SLC-21
    • Goose (Historically)
    • Mace (Historically)
  • SLC-22
    • Goose (Historically)
    • Mace (Historically)
  • SLC-23/24
    • Triton (Historically)
    • Snark (Historically)
  • SLC-25
    • Polaris (Historically)
    • X-17 (Historically)
    • Poseidon (Historically)
    • Trident I (Historically)
  • SLC-26
    • Redstone (Historically)
      • Explorer 1 launch site
    • Jupiter (Historically)
  • SLC-29
    • Polaris (Historically)
  • SLC-30A
    • Pershing 1 (Historically)
  • SLC-31
    • Minuteman (Historically)
    • Pershing 1a (Historically)
    • Burial of Challenger remains
  • SLC-32
    • Minuteman (Historically)
  • SLC-34
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Historically)
      • Site of Apollo 1 fire
  • SLC-37B
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Historically)
    • Delta IV (Historically)
    • Delta IV Heavy ((Historically)
  • SLC-44
    • Sounding Rockets (Historically)
    • Super Loki ((Historically)
    • Super Loki Lite Star (Historically)
    • LOFT-1 (Historically)
Demolished
  • Launch Complex A (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Launch Complex B (Replaced with SLC-46)
      • Matador (Historically)
  • Launch Complex C (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
  • Launch Complex D (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
  • SLC-10 (Replaced with SLC-31 and 32)
    • Jason (Historically)
    • Draco (Historically)
    • Nike Tomahawk (Historically)
  • SLC-17A
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Thor-Able (Historically)
    • Thor-Ablestar (Historically)
    • Thor-Delta (Historically)
    • Delta II (Historically)
  • SLC-17B
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Thor-Ablestar (Historically)
    • Thor-Delta (Historically)
    • Delta II (Historically)
    • Delta III (Historically)
  • SLC-37A (Taken over by SLC-37B)
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Unused)
  • SLC-43 (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Super Loki ((Historically)
  • SLC-44 (Replaced with submarine turning basin)
    • Dragon (Missile) ((Historically)
  • SLC-45 (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Roland (Cancelled)

Kennedy Space Center

  • LC-39A
    • Saturn V (Historically)
    • Space Shuttle (Historically)
    • Ares V (Canceled)
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • Starship (In Development)
  • LC-39B
    • Saturn V (Historically)
    • Saturn IB (Historically)
    • Space Shuttle (Historically)
    • Ares I-X (Historically)
    • Space Launch System
  • LC-39C (Canceled)
  • LC-48
    • No tenants
  • LC-49 (Planned)

Pacific Spaceport Complex – Kodiak

Vandenberg Space Force Base

Wallops Flight Facility

Launch Spotlight: Astra preparing for its first launch from Florida’s Space Coast

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Feb 8 2022 - 6:13 pm PT
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Launching NASA’s ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) 41 mission, Astra is attempting its first-ever east coast launch. Astra successfully reached orbit last year after three failed attempts from the Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska. This mission is the first time Astra will deploy satellites – four in total from various universities and NASA centers.

Launch Date: Thursday, February 10, 3:00 p.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX launching first west coast mission of 2022, paired with RTLS landing

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Feb 2 2022 - 12:27 pm PT
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SpaceX is preparing to launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from its west coast launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base. This will also feature an RTLS landing right next to the launch pad at its landing pad.

Launch Date: Wednesday, February 2, 3:27 p.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX to launch Italian radar satellite

Avatar for Jared Locke Jan 30 2022 - 9:01 am PT
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Thursday evening SpaceX is preparing to launch the second COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite for the Italian Space Agency. This will take off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will feature a booster landing at Landing Zone 1, also located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Launch Date: Sunday, January 30, 6:11 p.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: Virgin Orbit’s first 2022 launch of its LauncherOne vehicle

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Jan 11 2022 - 1:37 pm PT
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After becoming a publically traded company last week, Richard Branson’s commercial launch provider, Virgin Orbit, is preparing for its first launch of 2022. Onboard will be four payloads from both civil and commercial entities. Continuing on with fun names Virgin Orbit has given its mission, this one is called “Above the Clouds.”

Launch Date: Wednesday, January 12, ~5:00 p.m. EST (Takeoff: ~4:00 p.m. EST)

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX set to launch third Transporter mission

Avatar for Jared Locke Jan 11 2022 - 9:40 am PT
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Thursday morning SpaceX is preparing to launch another Transporter rideshare mission. This will take off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will feature a booster landing at Landing Zone 1, also located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Launch Date: Thursday, January 13, 10:25 a.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: Arianespace to launch NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Dec 23 2021 - 4:09 pm PT
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This weekend Arianespace will be entrusted to launch NASA’s most expensive and new flagship space telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope launch will be one of the biggest butt-puckering events of Webb’s deployment. The feeling will stay for the following months as the rest of the systems come online and parts of the telescope attempt to deploy. Learn everything about the launch below.

Launch Date: Saturday, December 25, 7:20 a.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX to launch 24th resupply mission to the International Space Station

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Dec 20 2021 - 3:30 pm PT
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This week SpaceX is preparing for its next mission to space, this time a cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s CRS-24 will launch the company’s Dragon 2 spacecraft to the ISS and take additional food, experiments, and other supplies to the current crew. Two notable studies will be a protein crystal growth study for possible future cancer treatments drugs and a handheld bioprinter that could one day heal wounds.

Date: Tuesday, December 21, 5:06 a.m. EST

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX launching Türksat 5B on a Falcon 9 rocket

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Dec 18 2021 - 7:58 pm PT
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Less than 24 hours since its most recent launch, SpaceX is preparing to launch Türksat 5B from one of its launch sites in Florida. Operated by Türksat A.Ş., the satellite will sit in geostationary orbit and service parts of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa with direct TV and telecommunications. This will mark SpaceX’s 30th launch of 2021.

Launch Date: Saturday, December 18, 10:58 p.m. EST

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Launch Thread: SpaceX to launch NASA’s newest observatory [U: Payload deployment]

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Dec 8 2021 - 3:43 pm PT
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NASA‘s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) will launch this week on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Initially, it was assigned to fly on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket, but it was moved to SpaceX to save on launch costs. IXPE’s three identical telescopes will study the polarization of cosmic X-rays. Its mission will be to map out the magnetic fields of black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, supernova remnants, magnetars, quasars, and active galactic nuclei. The total cost of IXPE and its two-year planned mission is $188 million.

Launch Date: Thursday, December 9, 1:00 – 2:30 a.m. EST

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Launch Thread: SpaceX to launch another batch of Starlink V1.5 satellites [U: Successful launch and deployment]

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Dec 2 2021 - 3:07 pm PT
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This week SpaceX is preparing to launch a fresh branch of 48 Starlink satellites on top of its Falcon 9 rocket. This is the second Starlink mission to launch from Florida’s Space Coast since SpaceX completed its original orbital shell on Starlink L28 in May. The name, Starlink 4-3, stands for it being the third launch of the fourth orbital shell of satellites. Although 4-2 hasn’t launched yet, the names are set up well before the launch takes place. This shell will contain 336 satellites at an orbit of 560 km.

Alongside the Starlink satellites will be two BlackSky satellites. We’ve seen plenty of these Earth-observing satellites launch on Rocket Lab’s Electron.

Launch Date: Wednesday, December 2, 6:12 p.m. EST

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