// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Launch Complex
A launch complex is a large area at a launch site that includes all the facilities needed to prepare, assemble, and launch rockets, such as launch pads, processing buildings, and control centers.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A Launch Complex (LC) is an integrated facility within a launch site comprising multiple launch pads, vehicle assembly buildings, propellant storage, command and control centers, and associated infrastructure necessary for the preparation and launch of space vehicles.
BACKGROUND
SpaceX Starbase, previously known as SpaceX South Texas Launch Site and SpaceX private launch site, is an industrial complex and rocket launch facility that serves as the main testing and production location for Starship launch vehicles, as well as the headquarters of the American space technology company SpaceX. Located in Starbase, Texas, United States, and adjacent to South Padre Island, Texas, Starbase has been under near-continuous development since the late 2010s, and comprises a spaceport near the Gulf of Mexico, a production facility, and a test site along Texas State Highway 4.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Spaceport
- Launch Facility
- Rocket Launch Site
- Launch Area
USAGE NOTE
Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 39 has hosted numerous historic missions.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Launch Complex.
Develops and operates private launch complexes, including the Starship development and launch site (Starbase) in Texas, and has heavily modified government-owned pads like Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for its Falcon and Starship vehicles.
As a government agency, NASA develops, owns, and operates launch infrastructure. It extensively redeveloped Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, including a new mobile launcher and ground systems, to support the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis missions.
Constructed and operates a private launch site in West Texas for its New Shepard suborbital rocket. The company is also building a large orbital launch complex, LC-36, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for its upcoming New Glenn rocket.
The first company to build and operate a private orbital launch complex, Launch Complex 1, in New Zealand. They have since developed a second site, Launch Complex 2, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, USA.
Operates several launch sites and has invested heavily in modifying its launch complexes, such as Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral, to support its next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket, including building a new mobile launch platform.
Operates the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, and through its parent organizations and the European Space Agency (ESA), is developing the new ELA-4 launch complex specifically designed for the Ariane 6 launch vehicle.
Developing launch infrastructure tailored for its 3D-printed rockets. The company has built out Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral and is developing facilities at Vandenberg Space Force Base for its Terran family of vehicles.
A commercial, vertical launch spaceport under construction in the Shetland Islands, UK. The company is developing launch pads and associated infrastructure from the ground up to provide launch services for multiple small satellite launch companies.