Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A


Launch Complex 39A is the first of Launch Complex 39's three launch sub-complexes, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The main launch pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, was built in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V launch vehicle, and has been used to support NASA crewed space flight missions, including the historic Apollo 11 moon landing and the Space Shuttle. Since 2014 the site has been leased by SpaceX and supports launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. As of November 2025, SpaceX is expanding the site to support Starship operations. Other plans include adding two landing zones for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets to conduct "Return-to-launch-site" landings.

History

Apollo program

In 1961, U.S. President Kennedy proposed to the U.S. Congress the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. Congressional approval led to the launch of the Apollo program, which required a massive expansion of NASA operations, including an expansion of launch operations from the Cape to adjacent Merritt Island to the north and west.
First named Launch Complex 39C, Launch Complex 39A was designed to handle launches of the Saturn V rocket, the largest and most powerful launch vehicle, which would propel the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. The first launch from Launch Complex 39A occurred in 1967 with the first Saturn V launch, which carried the uncrewed Apollo 4 spacecraft. The second uncrewed launch, Apollo 6, also used Pad 39A. With the exception of Apollo 10, which used Pad 39B, all crewed Apollo-Saturn V launches, commencing with Apollo 8, used Pad 39A.

Skylab program

Launch Complex 39A was used for the uncrewed launch of the Skylab space station on May 14, 1973. This used a modified Saturn V originally built for the cancelled Apollo 18 mission. The subsequent Skylab crewed missions launched from Launch Complex 39B using Saturn IB launch vehicles.

Space Shuttle

With the advent of the Space Shuttle program in the early 1980s, the original structure of the launch pads was remodeled for the needs of the Space Shuttle. The first usage of Pad 39A for the Space Shuttle came in 1979, when Enterprise was used to check the facilities prior to the first operational launch. Since then, Pad 39A hosted all Space Shuttle launches until January 1986, when would become the first to launch from pad 39B during the ill-fated STS-51-L mission.
During the launch of Discovery on STS-124 on May 31, 2008, the pad at LC-39A suffered extensive damage, in particular to the concrete trench used to deflect the SRBs' flames. The subsequent investigation found that the damage was the result of carbonation of epoxy and corrosion of steel anchors that held the refractory bricks in the trench in place. The damage had been exacerbated by the fact that hydrochloric acid is an exhaust by-product of the solid rocket boosters.
Just as for the first 24 shuttle flights, LC-39A supported the final shuttle flights, starting with STS-117 in June 2007 and ending with the retirement of the Shuttle fleet in July 2011. In total, Pad 39A hosted 94 launches from 1967 to 2011, including 12 Saturn V rockets and 82 space shuttles. Prior to the SpaceX lease agreement, the pad remained as it was when Atlantis launched on the final shuttle mission on July 8, 2011, complete with a mobile launcher platform. The pad was originally going to be modified for the Ares V rocket for the Constellation program in the mid 2010s, looking identical to LC-39B with the three lightning towers. The Ares I was planned to launch on the adjacent 39B but in 2010, the Constellation program was cancelled.

SpaceX

Talks for use of the pad were underway between NASA and Space Florida—the State of Florida's economic development agency—as early as 2011, but no deal materialized by 2012, and NASA then pursued other options for removing the pad from the federal government inventory.
By early 2013, NASA publicly announced that it would allow commercial launch providers to lease LC-39A, and followed that, in May 2013, with a formal solicitation for proposals for commercial use of the pad. There were two competing bids for the commercial use of the launch complex. SpaceX submitted a bid for exclusive use of the launch complex, while Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin submitted a bid for shared non-exclusive use of the complex, so that the launchpad would handle multiple vehicles, and costs could be shared over the long-term. One potential shared user in the Blue Origin plan was United Launch Alliance. Prior to the end of the bid period, and prior to any public announcement by NASA of the results of the process, Blue Origin filed a protest with the U.S. General Accounting Office "over what it says is a plan by NASA to award an exclusive commercial lease to SpaceX for use of mothballed space shuttle launch pad 39A". NASA had planned to complete the bid award and have the pad transferred by October 1, 2013, but the protest "will delay any decision until the GAO reaches a decision, expected by mid-December". On December 12, 2013, the GAO denied the protest and sided with NASA, which argued that the solicitation contained no preference on the use of the facility as multi-use or single-use. "The document merely asks bidders to explain their reasons for selecting one approach instead of the other and how they would manage the facility".
On December 13, 2013, NASA announced that it had selected SpaceX as the new commercial tenant. On April 14, 2014, SpaceX signed a lease agreement that gave it a 20-year exclusive lease on LC-39A. SpaceX planned to launch their launch vehicles from the pad and build a new hangar nearby. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, stated that he wanted to shift most of SpaceX's NASA launches to LC-39A, including commercial cargo and crew missions to the International Space Station.

Modifications

In 2015, SpaceX built the Horizontal Integration Facility just outside the perimeter of the existing launch pad in order to house both the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy rockets, and their associated hardware and payloads, during preparation for flight. Both types of launch vehicles are transported from the HIF to the launch pad aboard a Transporter Erector which rides on rails up the former crawlerway path. Also in 2015, the launch mount for the Falcon Heavy was constructed on Pad 39A over the existing infrastructure. The work on both the HIF building and the pad was substantially complete by late 2015. A rollout test of the new Transporter Erector was conducted in November 2015.
In February 2016, SpaceX indicated that they had "completed and activated Launch Complex 39A", but still had more work yet to do to support crewed flights. SpaceX originally planned to be ready to accomplish the first launch at pad 39A—of a Falcon Heavy—as early as 2015, as they had architects and engineers working on the new design and modifications since 2013. By late 2014, a preliminary date for a wet dress rehearsal of the Falcon Heavy was set for no earlier than July 1, 2015. Due to a failure in a June 2015 Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX delayed launching the Falcon Heavy in order to focus on the Falcon 9's failure investigation and its return to flight. In early 2016, considering the busy Falcon 9 launch manifest, it became unclear if the Falcon Heavy would be the first vehicle to launch from Pad 39A, or if one or more Falcon 9 missions would precede a Falcon Heavy launch. In the following months, the Falcon Heavy launch was delayed multiple times and eventually pushed back to February 2018.
SpaceX used the former Fixed Service Structure of the Pad 39A launch towers and initially intended to extend it above its former height. It did not need the Rotating Service Structure and removed it beginning in February 2016.
NASA removed the Orbiter Servicing Arm—with intent to use the space later to build a museum—and the white room by which astronauts entered the Space Shuttle. SpaceX indicated in late 2014 that additional levels to the FSS would not be added in the near term. SpaceX planned to eventually add at least two additional levels to the FSS, to provide crew access for the Dragon 2 launches.
In August 2018, SpaceX's Crew Access Arm was installed on a new level, which was built at the necessary height to enter the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. It very closely resembles jetways that are frequently found at airports. In September 2018, the refurbished Space Shuttle Emergency Egress System was raised to this new level.
SpaceX added a crew gantry access arm and white room to allow for crew and cargo ingress to the vehicle. The existing Space Shuttle evacuation slide-wire basket system was re-purposed to provide a safe emergency egress for the Dragon crew in the event of an emergency on the pad that does not necessitate using the Crew Dragon's launch abort system".
In 2019, SpaceX began substantial modification to LC 39A in order to begin work on phase 1 of the construction to prepare the facility to launch prototypes of the large -diameter methalox reusable rocket—Starship—from a launch stand, which would fly from 39A on suborbital test flight trajectories with six or fewer Raptor engines. A second phase of the construction was planned for 2020 to build a much more capable launch mount capable of launching the entire Starship launch vehicle, powered by 33 Raptor engines and producing a total of liftoff thrust when departing 39A.
In August 2019, SpaceX submitted an Environmental Assessment for the Starship launch system at Kennedy Space Center. This document included plans for the construction of additional structures at LC-39A to support Starship launches, including a dedicated pad, liquid methane tanks, and a Landing Zone. These are separate from the existing structures that support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.
In December 2021, SpaceX started construction of a Starship orbital launch pad on the site.
On June 16, 2022, the first tower segment for the Starship orbital pad arrived at LC-39A. Stacking began on June 21, and the Starship launch mount was also under construction. In 2024, an additional Environmental Impact Statement was underway to support an annual launch cadence of 40+ Starship launches. In early 2025, the original launch mount for LC-39a was scrapped in favor of a new design. The new launch mount was fabricated at SpaceX's Roberts Road facility and was transported to the launch complex for installation on November 4th 2025.

Launch history

The first SpaceX launch from pad 39A was SpaceX CRS-10 on February 19, 2017, using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle; it was the company's 10th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, and the first uncrewed launch from 39A since Skylab.
While Cape Canaveral [Space Launch Complex 40] was undergoing reconstruction after the loss of the AMOS-6 satellite on September 1, 2016, all SpaceX's east coast launches were from Pad 39A until SLC-40 became operational again in December 2017. These included the May 1, 2017, launch of NROL-76, the first SpaceX mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, with a classified payload.
On February 6, 2018, Pad 39A hosted the successful liftoff of the Falcon Heavy on its maiden launch, carrying Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster car to space; and the first flight of the human-rated spacecraft ; took place there on March 2, 2019.
The second Falcon Heavy flight, carrying the Arabsat-6A communications satellite for Arabsat of Saudi Arabia, successfully launched on April 11, 2019. The satellite is to provide Ku-band and Ka-band communication services for the Middle East and northern Africa, as well as for South Africa. The launch was notable as it marked the first time that SpaceX was able to successfully soft-land all three of the reusable booster stages, which were to be refurbished for future launches.
The Crew Dragon Demo-2 test flight launched with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from Launch Complex 39A on 30 May 2020, and docked to pressurised mating adapter PMA-2 on the Harmony module of the ISS on 31 May 2020. The first operational Commercial Crew mission Crew-1 was launched on November 15, 2020.
SpaceX launched the IM-1 robotic lander for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program on 15 February 2024, returning the pad to Lunar missions since the end of the Apollo program. The Starlink Group 6-56 mission launched on 8 May 2024, and was the Falcon 9's 83rd launch from LC-39A. That milestone made the rocket family the pad leader for launches from that launch complex, surpassing the Space Shuttle's 82 launches.

Current status

The private American company SpaceX has been the lease holder as of April 14, 2014. The terms of the agreement gave SpaceX a 20-year exclusive lease to LC-39A. SpaceX has launched their launch vehicles from the pad since the launch of the SpaceX CRS-10 Dragon resupply mission in 2017, and crewed missions since the launch of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission in 2020. Currently Pad 39A is used to host launches of astronauts on the crewed-version of the Dragon space capsule in a public–private partnership with NASA.
SpaceX assembles its launch vehicles horizontally in a hangar near the pad and transports them horizontally to the pad before erecting the vehicle to vertical for the launch.
SpaceX is building a Starship pad at LC-39A with a configuration equivalent to Pad B at Starbase. The launch tower was fully stacked in September 2022. After a few years of dormancy, SpaceX resumed work on the pad in the summer of 2024. On November 5, 2025, the launch mount for the Starship pad was lifted into place.

Future plans

With the expiration of the leases on LZ-1 and LZ-2, SpaceX plans to construct two landing zones for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy "Return-to-launch-site" landings.
There are also plans to expand the tank farm at the site and construct a separate catch-only tower for recovering Starship vehicles.

Launch statistics

Apollo and Apollo Applications

All flights operated by NASA.
No.DateTime Launch vehicleSerial numberMissionResultRemarks
19 November 196712:00Saturn VSA-501Apollo 4Maiden flight of the Saturn V and first launch from LC-39A.
24 April 196812:00Saturn VSA-502Apollo 6Pogo oscillations caused a failure of two J-2s in the S-II and a relight of the S-IVB, severely changing the planned mission trajectory of the Apollo CSM.
321 December 196812:51Saturn VSA-503Apollo 8First crewed launch of the Saturn V and first crewed launch from LC-39A. First crewed launch going beyond low Earth orbit, inserting into Lunar orbit.
43 March 196916:00Saturn VSA-504Apollo 9
First launch of the Saturn V in its full Apollo configuration, flying with an Apollo Lunar Module. First American manned flight with a call sign since Gemini 3's Molly Brown in 1965.
516 July 196913:32Saturn VSA-506Apollo 11
First fully operational Apollo flight. First crewed landing on the Moon and on another celestial body.
614 November 196916:22Saturn VSA-507Apollo 12
A lightning strike caused the shutdown of the CSM's computer systems, but was successfully restarted mid-flight. First surface rendezvous on another celestial body, landing next to Surveyor 3.
711 April 197019:13Saturn VSA-508Apollo 13
Launch was a success, but mission had to be aborted following a failure in the CSM's service module during the lunar transfer phase.
831 January 197121:03Saturn VSA-509Apollo 14
926 July 197113:34Saturn VSA-510Apollo 15
First flight of the extended Apollo missions, notably carrying the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1016 April 197217:54Saturn VSA-511Apollo 16
Second flight of the extended Apollo missions.
117 December 197205:33Saturn VSA-512Apollo 17
Last crewed launch of the Saturn V, and last of the extended Apollo missions. Most recent crewed flight to the Moon.
1214 May 197317:30Saturn VSA-513SkylabLast flight of the Saturn V. The S-IVB was replaced with the space station module, while the S-II was modified to make orbit. Payload was extensively damaged during ascent, leading to the loss of the station's micrometeoroid shield and a solar panel.

Space Shuttle

All flights operated by NASA.
No.DateTime Launch vehicleShuttleMissionResultRemarks
1312 April 198112:00Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-1Maiden flight of the Space Shuttle program, and maiden flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. First Space Shuttle orbital test. First shuttle landing at Edwards.
1412 November 198115:10Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-2Second orbital test.
1522 March 198216:00Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-3Third orbital test. Only shuttle landing at White Sands.
1627 June 198215:00Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-4Fourth and final Space Shuttle orbital test. First flight for the Department of Defense.
1711 November 198212:19Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-5
184 April 198318:30Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-6Maiden flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. Launch and deployment of TDRS-1. First launch for the Tracking and [Data Relay Satellite System].
1918 June 198311:33Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-7First crewed American flight with a female astronaut, Sally Ride.
2030 August 198306:32Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-8First night launch and night landing of a Shuttle. First crewed flight with an African-American astronaut, Guion Bluford.
2128 November 198316:00Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-9First mission using Spacelab.
223 February 198413:00Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-41-BFirst shuttle landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility.
236 April 198413:58Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-41-CRepair mission for the Solar Maximum Mission satellite launched in 1980. Also deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility, aiming to study long-term data placed in an outer space environment.
2430 August 198412:41Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-41-DMaiden flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.
255 October 198411:03Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-41-GDeployment of Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, aiming to study Earth's energy budget.
268 November 198412:15Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-51-A
2724 January 198519:50Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-51-CDoD mission. Deployment of Magnum satellite, also known as USA-8.
2812 April 198513:59Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-51-D
2929 April 198516:02Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-51-B
3017 June 198511:33Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-51-G
3129 July 198522:00Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-51-FMission was ultimately a success, but a faulty temperature reading caused an early shutdown of one of the RS-25s, forcing an abort to orbit. Insertion was thus much lower than planned altitude.
3227 August 198510:58Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-51-I
333 October 198515:15Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-51-JMaiden flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis. DoD mission. Deployment of two Defense Satellite Communications System satellites, also known as USA-11 and USA-12.
3430 October 198517:00Space ShuttleChallengerSTS-61-AFinal successful flight of Space Shuttle Challenger.
3527 November 198500:29Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-61-B
3612 January 198611:55Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-61-CLast Space Shuttle flight before the Challenger disaster. Carried Senator Bill Nelson onboard.
379 January 199012:35Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-32First flight from LC-39A following the Space Shuttle's return to flight in 1988. Retrieval of the Long Duration Exposure Facility.
3828 February 199007:50Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-36DoD mission. Deployment of Misty satellite, also known as USA-53. Shuttle mission with the highest inclination, at 62°. Originally planned to launch from SLC-6 at Vandenberg, prior to the West Coast shuttle program's cancellation post-Challenger.
3915 November 199023:48Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-38DoD mission. Deployment of SDS satellite, also known as USA-67.
4028 April 199111:33Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-39DoD mission. Performed a variety of experiments.
412 August 199115:02Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-43Launch and deployment of TDRS-5 for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.
4212 September 199123:11Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-48Launch and deployment of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.
4324 November 199123:44Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-44DoD mission. Deployment of Defense Support Program satellite, also known as USA-75.
4422 January 199214:52Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-42
4524 March 199213:13Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-45
4625 June 199216:12Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-50
472 December 199213:24Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-53Last flight for the DoD. Deployment of SDS satellite, also known as USA-89.
4826 April 199314:50Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-55
493 February 199412:10Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-60First shuttle mission to fly with a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev.
509 April 199411:05Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-59First flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour from 39A.
518 July 199404:43Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-65
5230 September 199411:16Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-68
532 March 199506:38Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-67
5427 June 199519:32Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-71First Shuttle docking with the Mir space station.
557 September 199515:09Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-69
5612 November 199512:30Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-74Docking with Mir. Launch and delivery of the Mir Docking Module to the station.
5716 September 199608:54Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-79Docking with Mir.
5811 February 199708:55Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-82Servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.
594 April 199719:20Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-83Mission cut short because of a fuel cell issue.
6015 May 199708:07Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-84Docking with Mir.
611 July 199718:02Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-94Reflight of STS-83.
627 August 199714:41Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-85
6325 September 199714:34Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-86Docking with Mir.
6423 January 199802:48Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-89Docking with Mir.
652 June 199822:06Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-91Last shuttle mission to Mir.
664 December 199808:35Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-88First flight to the International Space Station and first ISS assembly flight. Added the Unity Node 1 module.
6711 February 200016:43Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-99
6819 May 200010:11Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-101Docking with the ISS.
6911 October 200023:17Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-92ISS assembly flight, adding the Z1 truss.
707 February 200123:13Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-98ISS assembly flight, adding the Destiny US Lab module.
7119 April 200118:40Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-100ISS assembly flight, adding the Mobile Servicing System.
7210 August 200121:10Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-105Docking with the ISS.
731 March 200211:22Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-109Servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Final successful flight of Space Shuttle Columbia.
745 June 200221:22Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-111Docking with the ISS.
7524 November 200200:49Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-113ISS assembly flight, adding the P1 truss. Last shuttle flight before the Columbia disaster.
7616 January 200315:39Space ShuttleColumbiaSTS-107Launch and orbital operations were a success, but damage to the thermal protection system during ascent resulted in breakup during reentry, causing the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
778 June 200723:38Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-117ISS assembly flight, adding the S3/S4 truss and solar arrays. First launch from 39A following the shuttle's return to service in 2005.
788 August 200723:36Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-118ISS assembly flight, adding the S5 truss.
7923 October 200715:38Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-120ISS assembly flight, adding the Harmony Node 2 module.
807 February 200819:45Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-122ISS assembly flight, adding the Columbus European Laboratory module.
8111 March 200806:28Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-123ISS assembly flight, adding the Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section and Dextre.
8231 May 200821:02Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-124ISS assembly flight, adding the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module.
8315 November 200800:55Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-126Docking with the ISS.
8415 March 200923:43Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-119ISS assembly flight, adding the S6 solar array and truss.
8511 May 200918:01Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-125Final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, and final non-ISS Space Shuttle mission.
8615 July 200922:03Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-127ISS assembly flight, adding the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility.
8729 August 200903:59Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-128Docking with the ISS. Final shuttle landing at Edwards.
8816 November 200919:28Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-129Docking with the ISS.
898 February 201009:14Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-130ISS assembly flight, adding the Tranquility Node 3 module and Cupola.
905 April 201010:21Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-131Docking with the ISS. Final night launch of the Space Shuttle.
9114 May 201018:20Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-132ISS assembly flight, adding the Rassvet Mini-Research module.
9224 February 201121:53Space ShuttleDiscoverySTS-133ISS assembly flight, adding the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module. Final daytime shuttle landing, and final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.
9316 May 201112:56Space ShuttleEndeavourSTS-134ISS assembly flight, adding the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
948 July 201115:29Space ShuttleAtlantisSTS-135Docking with the ISS. Final flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis, final crewed launch from the United States until 2020, and the final flight of the Space Shuttle program.

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy

All flights operated by SpaceX.

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (2017-2022)

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (since 2023)