The Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46), previously Launch Complex 46 (LC-46), is a launch complex at

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

operated under license by

Space Florida Space Florida is the aerospace economic development agency of the State of Florida. Founded in 2006, it works with commercial space companies, other governmental agencies, and academic institutions to develop space-related infrastructure. His ...

previously used for

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

rocket launches. It has been used by Astra Space for the

Rocket 3 Rocket 3 may refer to: * Triumph Rocket III, a motorcycle by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd * Triumph Rocket 3, the successor of Triumph Rocket III * BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident The Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3 was a technically advanced, high ...

system and is currently used as a multipurpose launch pad.

History

Construction and Trident Operations

This complex was built as part of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Trident II The UGM-133A Trident II, or Trident D5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space in Sunnyvale, California, and deployed with the United States Navy and Royal Navy. It was first deployed in March 1990, and ...

submarine-launch missile development effort. Construction was underway by early February 1984, with the first Trident II launch LC-46 occurring on 15 January 1987. A total of 19 Trident IIs were launched from the site between 15 January 1987 and 27 January 1989. After this, all subsequent Trident II testing took place at sea, and the site was deactivated. During the construction of then-called LC-46, the nearby

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

complex LC-43 was demolished. Its operations were transferred to

LC-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF designation) is a airlift, military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies of World War II, Allies during World Wa ...

Space Florida

In 1997, Space Florida began operations at the site, and was opened for commercial space operations.

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

launched an

Athena II The Athena II is an American small expendable launch system which was used for three launches between 1998 and 1999, and which was scheduled to return to service in 2012 but has not been flown again as of 2024. It is a member of the Athena family ...

and an

Athena I The Athena I, known as the Lockheed Launch Vehicle (LLV) at the time of its first flight and Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV) at the time of its second flight, was an American small expendable launch system which was used for four launches b ...

from the pad in 1998 and 1999 respectively. The Athena II, launched January 7, 1998, carried the

Lunar Prospector ''Lunar Prospector'' was a spacecraft that orbited the Moon for 19 months in 1998-99. From a low polar orbit, it mapped surface composition including lunar hydrogen deposits, measured magnetic and gravity fields, and studied lunar outgassing e ...

spacecraft which orbited the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

. On January 27, 1999, the Athena I lifted off with Taiwan's first satellite,

ROCSAT-1 Formosat-1 (, formerly known as ROCSAT-1) was an Earth observation satellite operated by the National Space Program Office (NSPO; now the Taiwan Space Agency) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to conduct observations of the ionosphere and oceans. ...

, carrying experimental communications, ocean imagery, and ionospheric studies instruments. In March 2010, the USAF 45th Space Wing issued Real Property Licenses to Space Florida for Launch Complexes 36 and 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. On July 1, 2010, the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

approved a Launch Site Operator's License for commercial launches at Launch Complex 46. On September 24, 2010, the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast was awarded a $500,000 Defense Infrastructure Grant from the State of Florida to be used for critical communications upgrades at SLC-46. In early 2014, Space Florida contracted with

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, arms manufacturer headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company operated across 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK reven ...

(ATK) to begin phase three of the communications infrastructure refurbishment, with completion expected to take one year. In July 2015, the U.S. Air Force and

Orbital ATK Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in February 9, 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Orbital ATK designed, built, and de ...

announced a

Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the retired LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Space Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010 car ...

launched from SLC-46 would be used for the

ORS-5 The Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS Office) was a joint initiative of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The "stand up" of the office took place 21 May 2007 at Kirtland Air Force Base. The ORS Office focuses on providing quic ...

mission in 2017. ORS-5 was successfully launched on August 26, 2017.

Ascent Abort-2

On July 2, 2019,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

launched a repurposed

Peacekeeper Peacekeeper may refer to: General * A person involved in peacekeeping ** United Nations peacekeeping * Peace officer * Conservator of the peace Military * The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, a land-based nuclear ICBM ** Peacekeeper Rail Garrison, a mob ...

missile from SLC-46, carrying the

Orion spacecraft Orion (Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin that is paired with a Eu ...

for the Ascent Abort-2 mission. The mission's goal was to demonstrate and qualify the

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

Launch Abort System A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule. It is used in the event of a critical emergency to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiri ...

(LAS) that will allow the astronaut crew to safely escape in the event of an emergency during launch pad operations, through the ascent phase of the Orion vehicle.

Astra

On December 6, 2021,

Astra Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

announced plans to launch its small orbital rockets from SLC-46 as soon as February 2022. The company was planning for a launch cadence of once a month for two years. On 10 February 2022, the first Astra launch from SLC-46 resulted in failure. After two previous scrubbed launch attempts in the preceding days, the launch of the rocket occurred nominally. However, first stage separation failed, leading to the second stage to spin out of control, and the rocket and payload were lost. On 12 June 2022, the second Astra launch from SLC-46 also resulted in failure. Astra's

Rocket 3.3 The Astra Rocket was a small-lift space launch vehicle series designed, manufactured, and operated by American company Astra (American spaceflight company), Astra (formerly known as Ventions). The rockets were designed to be manufactured at ...

vehicle (serial number LV0010) carrying two

TROPICS The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

CubeSats for

failed to reach orbit and the satellites were lost.

ABL and Dark Eagle

In March 2023,

ABL Space Systems Long Wall (formerly ABL Space Systems) is an American aerospace company, based in Long Beach, California (originally from El Segundo, California), that manufactures deployable launch vehicles and infrastructure for missile defense, formerly for ...

announced that they would be using SLC-46 as a temporary launching site for their RS1. That month, they were leased Launch Complex 15 by the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...

, and clarified that this measure was taken while LC-15 undergoes reactivation. ABL stated their first launch from Pad 46 would happen later in the year. However, no launch has yet occurred and future outlooks remain in question following ABL's shift from commercial launches to military applications in October 2024. On December 12, 2024, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and

launched and tested their Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon from SLC-46 in a joint exercise. A second test was conducted the next year, on April 25.

Launch statistics

References

External links

History of Launch Complex 46
{{Merritt Island Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch complexes of the United States Space Force Rocket launch sites in the United States 1987 establishments in Florida