Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41


Space Launch Complex 41, sometimes referred to as "Slick Forty-one," is one of two launch sites at the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Originally built as Launch Complex 41, it and the neighboring Space Launch Complex 40 were designed for the United States Air Force's Titan III rocket program, where it launched the Titan IIIC in the 1960s and the Titan IIIE in the 1970s. In the 1990s, the Air Force and Martin Marietta upgraded the pad for use by the Titan III's successor, the Titan IV.
During the early 2000s, SLC-41 underwent modifications by Lockheed Martin in order to support the launch operations of the Atlas V. It was later transferred to United Launch Alliance —a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing—who continues to use the pad today for launches of the Atlas V and its successor, Vulcan Centaur.

History

Titan IIIC and IIIE (1965–1977)

Launch Complex 41 was originally built as part of the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex, intended to launch Titan III rockets with solid rocket boosters in a method to enable a rapid launch rate. The ITL consisted of a Titan assembly facility at the Vertical Integration Building, an SRB attachment facility at the Solid Motor Assembly Building, and two pads at Launch Complex 40 and LC-41, all connected by the first rail line at the Cape. The facilities were completed in 1964, and the first launch from LC-41 was of a Titan IIIC carrying four separate payloads on December 21, 1965.
Throughout the remainder of the 1960s, LC-41 was used to launch 10 Titan IIICs, the entirety of them being military payloads such as Vela nuclear detection satellites and Lincoln Experimental Satellites. The last Titan IIIC launch from LC-41 took place in May 1969, launching Vela satellites OPS-6909 and OPS-6911, the later of which would detect a double flash in the southern Indian Ocean and instigate the Vela incident ten years later. All remaining launches of the rocket were made from LC-40.
In the early 1970s, LC-41 underwent a modification to launch the Titan IIIE, which replaced the Transtage upper stage of the IIIC with a Centaur. With the exception of its inaugural flight in February 1974, every launch from the pad in this era contained a NASA payload. Those satellites were the two Helios probes sent to study the Sun, the two Viking probes sent to orbit and land on Mars, and the two Voyager spacecraft that flew by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The Titan III facility at Complex 41 was deactivated in late 1977, following September's launch of Voyager 1.

Titan IV (1989–1999)

In 1986, the existing mobile service tower and umbilical tower at LC-41 were both stripped down to their main structural components as part of a renovation conducted by Titan manufacturer Martin Marietta. This was done as part of their "tear-out and refurbish" contracts, which modified and prepared the ITL for its new rocket configuration: LC-40 would get converted to use the civilian-based Commercial Titan III, while LC-41 would be used for the military-focused Titan IV. Additionally, Titan IV processing would go through the newly-constructed Solid Motor Assembly Readiness Facility prior to launch. The maiden flight of the Titan IV occurred on June 14, 1989, carrying USA-39 for the United States Air Force. Similarly to most other Titan launches, all 10 launches of the Titan IV from LC-41 were classified military payloads, most going into geostationary transfer orbit.
The Titan family of the 1980s and 1990s was marred by its price in the eyes of commercial customers, who instead opted to use cheaper launch vehicles like Delta II and Ariane 4. Following Lockheed's merger with Martin Marietta in 1995, Lockheed Martin eventually decided to begin the process of retiring the Titan program in favor of their cheaper Atlas line. With any remaining Titan IV launches to be made from LC-40, the last Titan launch from LC-41 was on April 9, 1999, when a Titan IVB launched the USA-142 early warning satellite. The IUS upper stage failed to separate, leaving the payload stranded in a useless GTO orbit.

Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur (2002–present)

After the last Titan launch, LC-41 was renovated by Lockheed Martin and the Air Force to support the Atlas V as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, getting rechristened as SLC-41 in the process. The old launch tower and mobile service structure were demolished, while the new Vertical Integration Facility was built for the assembly of the new launch vehicle. Additionally, the rail lines going towards the pad were renovated to support the assembly and transportation of the Atlas V and it's mobile launcher platform for liftoff. SLC-41 was the site of the first-ever Atlas V launch on August 21, 2002, lifting Hot Bird 6, a Eutelsat geostationary communications spacecraft built around a Spacebus 3000B3 bus.
Over the years of the Atlas V era, SLC-41 was used to launch various noteworthy payloads for various agencies such as NASA and the Air Force. These include the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in August 2005, the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto in January 2006, the Juno mission to Jupiter in August 2011, and two of the Mars rover missions; Mars Science Laboratory in November 2011, and Mars 2020 in July 2020. Other notable payloads to be mentioned are various launches of the Boeing X-37B for the Air Force throughout the 2010s, and a couple of Cyngus flights to the International Space Station in 2015 and 2016 following the failure of Cygnus Orb 3.
In 2005, it was announced that a joint venture would form between Lockheed Martin and Boeing that would combine Atlas V operations at SLC-41 with Delta II and Delta IV operations at SLC-17 and SLC-37 respectively, following issues with profit abounding with competition between the two. This transfer in operation was made official in December 2006, with the formation of United Launch Alliance. The first launch from SLC-41 under ULA came in March 2007 with a variety of Department of Defense payloads lifting off from an Atlas V.
In 2011, the idea of rebuilding a launch tower at SLC-41 began to get proposed following Sierra Nevada Corporation and Boeing's decisions to have the Atlas V launch their respective Dream Chaser and CST-100 Starliner spacecraft into orbit. Proposals turned into plans in 2014, following Boeing's winning of a contract as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts to the ISS. Pad modifications at SLC-41 began in September 2015 to support human spaceflight to support Starliner, including the addition of a launch service tower to provide access to the capsule for "pre-launch processing, crew access, and safety egress systems should the need to evacuate Starliner on the pad occur". The first launch utilizing the newly-built launch tower came on December 20, 2019 with the launch of the Boeing Orbital Flight Test. This was followed up with the first crewed launch to be made from SLC-41, which occurred on June 5, 2024 with the Boeing Crew Flight Test and carried astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams into orbit. This was the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since Apollo 7 in 1968 and made SLC-41 the seventh pad in the Cape Canaveral area to launch astronauts into space.
During the late 2010s and the early 2020s, SLC-41, the VIF, and the SMARF underwent minor modifications to support Vulcan Centaur, the successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV. This was in part due to the Atlas V using the Russian-built RD-180 as its first stage engine, which drew concern among Congress following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As the Atlas V still had numerous pending launches, SLC-41's modifications were made to allow both rockets to take off from the pad, rather than a more traditional renovation like what was seen at Vandenberg's SLC-3E. The first Vulcan launch to be made from the pad occurred on January 8, 2024, carrying Peregine Mission One to the Moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services.

Launch history

Statistics

Titan III and IV

All launches operated by the United States Air Force.
No.DateTime Launch vehicleS/N and configurationPayload/missionResultRemarks
121 December 196514:00Titan IIIC3C-8LES-3 and LES-4First launch from LC-41. Valve issue in the Transtage led to stage failure during a burn, leaving payloads stuck in geostationary transfer orbit.
216 June 196614:00Titan IIIC3C-11OPS-9311 to OPS-9317 First successful launch from LC-41.
326 August 196614:00Titan IIIC3C-12IDCSP × 7Payload fairing failure occurred 73 seconds after launch, leading to range safety protocols being activated.
418 January 196714:19Titan IIIC3C-13OPS-9321 to OPS-9328
528 April 196710:01Titan IIIC3C-10OPS-6638 and OPS-6679
61 July 196713:15Titan IIIC3C-14OPS-9331 to OPS-9334 and LES-5
713 June 196814:03Titan IIIC3C-16OPS-9341 to OPS-9348
826 September 196807:37Titan IIIC3C-5LES-6
99 February 196921:09Titan IIIC3C-17TACSAT-1
1023 May 196907:57Titan IIIC3C-15OPS-6909 and OPS-6911 Final Titan IIIC launch from LC-41, with all remaining launches being conducted from LC-40. OPS-6911 was later made notable for causing the Vela incident in 1979, after detecting a double flash in the southern Indian Ocean.
1111 February 197413:48Titan IIIE23E-1SphinxMaiden flight of the Titan IIIE and first civilian payload to launch from LC-41. Centaur turbopump malfunction 12 minutes in led to RSO protocol.
1210 December 197407:11Titan IIIE23E-2Helios-AFirst in a pair of heliophysics satellites aimed at close-up studies of the Sun. First launch into heliocentric orbit from a Titan rocket and from LC-41.
1320 August 197521:22Titan IIIE23E-4Viking 1First launch of the Viking program, aimed at studying Mars from orbit and from the surface. First spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. First Titan flight and launch from LC-41 to another celestial body.
149 September 197518:39Titan IIIE23E-3Viking 2Second and final launch of the Viking program, aimed at studying Mars from orbit and from the surface.
1515 January 197605:34Titan IIIE23E-5Helios-BSecond in a pair of heliophysics satellites aimed at close-up studies of the Sun. Set a proximity record to the Sun that stood until the Parker Solar Probe in 2018.
1620 August 197714:29Titan IIIE23E-7Voyager 2First launch of the Voyager program, aimed at studying the outer planets. First spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune, and second spacecraft to enter the interstellar medium.
175 September 197712:56Titan IIIE23E-6Voyager 1Second and final launch of the Voyager program, aimed at studying the outer planets. First spacecraft to enter the interstellar medium. Last flight of the Titan IIIE and last Titan III flight from LC-41.
1814 June 198913:18Titan IVK-1, 402A / IUSUSA-39 Maiden flight of the Titan IV.
198 June 199005:21Titan IVK-4, 405AUSA-59 to USA-62 First Titan IV flight without any third stage.
2013 November 199000:37Titan IVK-6, 402A / IUSUSA-65
213 May 199415:55Titan IVK-7, 401A / CentaurUSA-103
2227 August 199408:58Titan IVK-9, 401A / CentaurUSA-105
2310 July 199512:38Titan IVK-19, 401A / CentaurUSA-112
2424 April 199623:37Titan IVK-16, 401A / CentaurUSA-118
258 November 199702:05Titan IVA-17, 401A / CentaurNRO launches|NROL-4]NRO launch. Trumpet satellite, also known as USA-136. First acknowledged National Reconnaissance Office flight from LC-41.
2612 August 199811:30Titan IVA-20, 401A / CentaurNROL-7NRO launch. Mercury satellite, didn't receive a USA designation. Guidance system failure 40 seconds into launch resulted in loss of control, leading to RSO protocols.
279 April 199917:01Titan IVB-27, 402B / IUSUSA-142 Payload failed to separate from IUS. Final Titan IV flight and launch of a Titan rocket from LC-41, with all remaining flights of the family being conducted from LC-40, SLC-4E, and SLC-4W.

Pre-Starliner Atlas V

All launches from 2002 to 2006 operated by Lockheed Martin. All launches since 2007 operated by United Launch Alliance.
No.DateTime Launch vehicleConfigurationPayload/missionResultRemarks
2821 August 200222:05Atlas VAtlas V 401Hot Bird 6Maiden flight of the Atlas V and first launch as SLC-41. First flight of the Atlas V 400 configuration.
2913 May 200322:10Atlas VAtlas V 401Hellas Sat 2
3017 July 200323:45Atlas VAtlas V 521Rainbow-1First launch of the Atlas V 500 configuration, and first Atlas V launch with solid rocket boosters.
3117 December 200412:07Atlas VAtlas V 521AMC-16
3211 March 200521:42Atlas VAtlas V 431Inmarsat-4 F1
3312 August 200511:43Atlas VAtlas V 401Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterPart of the Mars Exploration Program, going to the titular planet. First Atlas V launch to another celestial body.
3419 January 200619:00Atlas VAtlas V 551New HorizonsPart of the New Frontiers program, going to Pluto and the Kuiper belt. First spacecraft to visit Pluto and a Kuiper belt object, 486958 Arrokoth. First Atlas V launch with an RTG, and only Atlas V launch with a third stage, a Star 48B.
3520 April 200620:27Atlas VAtlas V 411Astra 1KR
369 March 200703:10Atlas VAtlas V 401STP-1Rideshare mission conducted by the Department of Defense. First Atlas V mission for the DoD.
3715 June 200715:12Atlas VAtlas V 401NROL-30NRO launch. Two Intruder satellites, sharing the designation USA-194. First classified mission for Atlas V. Centaur shut down early, leaving payload in a suboptimal orbit. NRO declared launch a success.
3811 October 200700:22Atlas VAtlas V 421WGS-1
3910 December 200722:05Atlas VAtlas V 401NROL-24NRO launch. Quasar satellite, also known as USA-198.
4014 April 200820:12Atlas VAtlas V 421ICO G1
414 April 200900:31Atlas VAtlas V 421WGS-2
4218 June 200921:32Atlas VAtlas V 401Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSSPart of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, aimed at scouting the Moon as preparation for future crewed missions like the Artemis Program. Centaur was purposely impacted on the lunar surface as part of LCROSS's mission.
438 September 200921:35Atlas VAtlas V 401PAN
4423 November 200906:55Atlas VAtlas V 431Intelsat 14
4511 February 201015:23Atlas VAtlas V 401Solar Dynamics ObservatoryPart of the Large Strategic Science Missions and the Living With a Star program, aimed at studying the Sun.
4622 April 201023:52Atlas VAtlas V 501X-37B OTV-1First flight of the Boeing X-37B.
4714 August 201011:07Atlas VAtlas V 531AEHF-1
485 March 201122:46Atlas VAtlas V 501X-37B OTV-2Second flight of the X-37B.
497 May 201118:10Atlas VAtlas V 401SBIRS GEO-1
505 August 201116:25Atlas VAtlas V 551JunoPart of the New Frontiers program, aimed at studying Jupiter and its polar regions. First spacecraft to go to an outer Solar System planet using solar panels.
5126 November 201115:02Atlas VAtlas V 541Mars Science LaboratoryPart of the Large Strategic Science Missions and the Mars Exploration Program, aimed at studying Mars with the Curiosity rover. First mission to Mars to use an RTG.
5224 February 201222:15Atlas VAtlas V 551MUOS-1
534 May 201218:42Atlas VAtlas V 531AEHF-2
5420 June 201212:28Atlas VAtlas V 401NROL-38NRO launch. Quasar satellite, also known as USA-236.
5530 August 201208:05Atlas VAtlas V 401Van Allen ProbesPart of the Large Strategic Science Missions and the Living With a Star program, aimed at studying Earth's Van Allen belts.
5611 December 201218:03Atlas VAtlas V 501X-37B OTV-3Third flight of the X-37B. First reuse of the spacecraft.
5731 January 201301:48Atlas VAtlas V 401TDRS-11Launched as TDRS-K. Part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. First TDRS launch from SLC-41.
5819 March 201321:21Atlas VAtlas V 401SBIRS GEO 2
5915 May 201321:38Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-4Part of the Global Positioning System. First GPS launch from SLC-41.
6019 July 201313:00Atlas VAtlas V 551MUOS-2
6118 September 201308:10Atlas VAtlas V 531AEHF-3
6218 November 201318:28Atlas VAtlas V 401MAVENPart of the Mars Exploration Program, going to the titular planet.
6324 January 201402:33Atlas VAtlas V 401TDRS-12Launched as TDRS-L. Part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.
6410 April 201417:45Atlas VAtlas V 541NROL-67NRO launch. SHARP satellite, also known as USA-250.
6522 May 201413:09Atlas VAtlas V 401NROL-33NRO launch. Quasar satellite, also known as USA-252.
662 August 201403:23Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-7Part of the Global Positioning System.
6717 September 201400:10Atlas VAtlas V 401CLIO
6829 October 201417:01Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-8Part of the Global Positioning System.
6921 January 201501:04Atlas VAtlas V 551MUOS-3
7013 March 201502:44Atlas VAtlas V 421Magnetospheric Multiscale MissionPart of the Large Strategic Science Missions and the Solar Terrestrial Probes program, aimed at studying Earth's magnetosphere.
7120 May 201515:05Atlas VAtlas V 501X-37B OTV-4Fourth flight of the X-37B.
7215 July 201515:36Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-10Part of the Global Positioning System.
732 September 201510:18Atlas VAtlas V 551MUOS-4
742 October 201510:28Atlas VAtlas V 421Morelos-3
7531 October 201516:13Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-11Part of the Global Positioning System.
766 December 201521:44Atlas VAtlas V 401Cygnus CRS OA-4First of three Cygnus launches on Atlas V, following the failure of Cygnus CRS Orb-3 damaging LP-0A and grounding Antares. First Atlas V launch to the International Space Station.
775 February 201613:38Atlas VAtlas V 401GPS IIF-12Part of the Global Positioning System.
7823 March 201603:05Atlas VAtlas V 401Cygnus CRS OA-6Second of three Cygnus launches on Atlas V to the ISS.
7924 June 201614:30Atlas VAtlas V 551MUOS-5
8028 July 201612:37Atlas VAtlas V 421NROL-61NRO launch. Quasar satellite, also known as USA-269.
818 September 201623:05Atlas VAtlas V 411OSIRIS-RExPart of the New Frontiers program, aimed at traveling to asteroid 101955 Bennu to collect and return samples to Earth.
8219 November 201623:42Atlas VAtlas V 541GOES-16Launched as GOES-R. Part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites system of satellites. First GOES launch on an Atlas V.
8318 December 201619:13Atlas VAtlas V 431EchoStar 19
8421 January 201700:42Atlas VAtlas V 401SBIRS GEO-3
8518 April 201715:11Atlas VAtlas V 401Cygnus CRS OA-7Third and last of three Cygnus launches on Atlas V to the ISS.
8618 August 201712:29Atlas VAtlas V 401TDRS-13Launched as TDRS-M. Part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.
8715 October 201707:28Atlas VAtlas V 421NROL-52NRO launch. Quasar satellite, also known as USA-279.
8820 January 201800:48Atlas VAtlas V 411SBIRS GEO-4
891 March 201822:02Atlas VAtlas V 541GOES-17Launched as GOES-S. Part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites system of satellites.
9014 April 201823:13Atlas VAtlas V 551AFSPC-11
9117 October 201804:15Atlas VAtlas V 551AEHF-4
928 August 201910:13Atlas VAtlas V 551AEHF-5

Starliner-era Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur

All launches operated by United Launch Alliance.
No.DateTime Launch vehicleConfigurationPayload/missionResultRemarks
9320 December 201911:36Atlas VAtlas V N22Boeing OFTFirst Atlas V launch with the Boeing Starliner and first Boeing demonstration flight for the Commercial Crew Program. Launch was a success, but spacecraft failed to reach the ISS and returned early. First Atlas V launch with no fairing, using the launch tower, and with a two-engine Centaur.
9410 February 202004:03Atlas VAtlas V 411Solar OrbiterPart of the Cosmic Vision program, aimed at studying the Sun and its polar regions. First launch helmed by the European Space Agency from SLC-41.
9526 March 202020:18Atlas VAtlas V 551AEHF-6
1617 May 202013:14Atlas VAtlas V 501X-37B OTV-6Sixth flight of the X-37B. Last flight of the X-37B on an Atlas V.
9730 July 202011:50Atlas VAtlas V 541Mars 2020Part of the Large Strategic Science Missions and the Mars Exploration Program, aimed at studying Mars with the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter and to collect surface samples for a future return mission. First spacecraft to fly on another planet, and last Atlas launch to another planet.
9813 November 202022:32Atlas VAtlas V 531NROL-101NRO launch. Also known as USA-310.
9918 May 202117:37Atlas VAtlas V 421SBIRS GEO 5
10016 October 202109:34Atlas VAtlas V 401LucyPart of the New Frontiers program, aimed at studying a number of Jupiter trojans and other asteroids in the Asteroid belt. Final launch of an Atlas rocket to go beyond geostationary orbit.
1017 December 202110:19Atlas VAtlas V 551STP-3
10221 January 202219:00Atlas VAtlas V 511GSSAP 5 & 6
1031 March 202221:38Atlas VAtlas V 541GOES-18Launched as GOES-T. Part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites system of satellites.
10419 May 202222:54Atlas VAtlas V N22Boeing OFT-2Second Boeing demonstration flight for the Commercial Crew Program. First fully successful Starliner mission.
1051 July 202223:15Atlas VAtlas V 541USSF-12Launch for the United States Space Force. Contained a test spacecraft for a successor to the SBIRS, also known as USA-332, USA-333, and USA-337.
1064 August 202210:29Atlas VAtlas V 421SBIRS GEO-6Final launch of the Atlas V 400 configuration from SLC-41.
1074 October 202221:36Atlas VAtlas V 531SES-20 & SES-21
10810 September 202312:47Atlas VAtlas V 551NROL-107NRO launch. Three Silentbarker satellites, also known as USA-346 to USA-348. Final NRO launch on an Atlas rocket.
1096 October 202318:06Atlas VAtlas V 501KuiperSat ProtoflightFirst launch of the Kuiper Systems megaconstellation for Amazon, carrying two demonstration satellites. Final Atlas launch without solid rocket boosters.
1108 January 202407:18Vulcan CentaurVulcan VC2SPeregrine Mission OneMaiden flight of Vulcan Centaur. First launch of Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander and first launch of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Launch was a success, but a propellant leak precluded any landing attempts.
1115 June 202414:52Atlas VAtlas V N22Boeing CFTFirst crewed launch of Starliner, first crewed launch of Atlas V, and crewed launch from SLC-41. First crewed launch from Cape Canaveral since Apollo 7 in 1968. Carried astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station. Launch and docking was a success, but spacecraft issues caused it to return uncrewed, with Wilmore and Williams being reassigned to Expedition 72's crew.
11230 July 202410:45Atlas VAtlas V 551USSF-51Launch for the United States Space Force. Three unknown satellites, also known as USA-396 to USA-398. Final military launch of an Atlas rocket.
1134 October 202411:25Vulcan CentaurVulcan VC2SCertification Flight 2Carried a mass simulator payload, initially planning to be Dream Chaser's maiden flight before delays forced a payload switch. 37 seconds into launch, an anomaly occurred leading to the failure of one solid rocket booster's nozzle; however, Vulcan continued into orbit and flight was declared a success.
11428 April 202523:01Atlas VAtlas V 551KuiperSat KA-01First operational launch of the Kuiper Systems megaconstellation for Amazon.
11523 June 202510:54Atlas VAtlas V 551KuiperSat KA-02
11613 August 202500:56Vulcan CentaurVulcan VC4SUSSF-106Launch for the United States Space Force. Includes NTS satellite, also known as USA-554. First military launch for Vulcan.
11725 September 202512:09Atlas VAtlas V 551KuiperSat KA-03
11814 November 202503:04Atlas VAtlas V 551ViaSat-3 F2Final Atlas launch beyond low Earth orbit.
11916 December 202508:28Atlas VAtlas V 551LeoSat LA-04First Amazon Leo launch following its renaming from Kuiper Systems.