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Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), sometimes referred to as "Slick Forty," is one of two launch pads located at the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It initially opened as Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) and was used by the United States Air Force alongside the neighboring Space Launch Complex 41 for the Titan III program. It first saw use by the Titan IIIC throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before getting retrofitted for the Titan 34D during the 1980s. In the 1990s, Martin Marietta and the Air Force upgraded it to launch the Commercial Titan III, but the rocket's lack of success caused the pad to be used by the Titan IV throughout the decade and into the 2000s.
Following the Titan family's retirement, the SLC-40 lease was given to SpaceX in 2007 for use by their new rocket, the Falcon 9. Since the early 2010s, the pad has transformed into a high-volume launch site for the Falcon 9, being mainly used to service the company's Starlink megaconstellation. As of November 2025, the pad has hosted over 290 Falcon 9 launches.
In near future, SpaceX will add a new Falcon 9 landing zone within the SLC‑40 launch complex to replace Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Launch Complex 40 was originally constructed by the United States Air Force as one of two launch pads of the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex (ITL), tasked with launching Titan III rockets with solid rocket boosters. The ITL was similar to Launch Complex 39 at the nearby Kennedy Space Center, where Titans would get assembled at the Vertical Integration Building (demolished in 2006), have their boosters built and attached at the Solid Motor Assembly Building (now used by SpaceX to process Falcon 9 payloads), and launched from either LC-40 or Launch Complex 41 (LC-41, now SLC-41).
LC-40 hosted its inaugural launch in June 1965, a Titan IIIC rocket with a 9,500 kg (21,000 lb) mass simulator to test the Transtage upper stage. Almost every Titan IIIC launch from the pad carried a military payload, the vast majority of them being classified reconnaissance satellites. Additionally, the ITL was planned to launch the Titan IIIM for the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, using it as a testing ground before the operational launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-6 would be activated. The only MOL launch made before the program's cancellation occurred at LC-40, with OPS 0855 lifting off in November 1966 with the first capsule to be reused, Gemini SC-2 previously flown on Gemini 2.
Going into the 1970s, LC-40 became the dedicated launch site for the Titan IIIC within the ITL, as LC-41 would undergo modifications to launch the Titan IIIE. Throughout the rest of the decade, the complex would see approximately one to three Titan IIIC launches a year until the rocket's replacement with the Titan 34D in the early 1980s. Similarly to its predecessor, every Titan 34D launch from the pad was for military purposes, being used to put payloads into geostationary transfer orbit.
In the late 1980s, Titan manufacturer Martin Marietta and the Air Force converted the ITL to their new Titan configurations: LC-40 would be used to launch the civilian-focused Commercial Titan III, while LC-41 would be for the military-oriented Titan IV. Additionally, Titan IV processing would go through the newly built Solid Motor Assembly and Readiness Facility (now used by United Launch Alliance for future assembly of Vulcan Centaur rockets) before launch. This setup did not last, as the Commercial Titan III's price compared to cheaper systems like Delta II and Ariane 4 limited its customer base into early retirement. That being said, a handful of notable payloads were launched from LC-40 in this era, like Intelsat 603 in March 1990 (of which a stage malfunction caused it to be visited by Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-49) and the failed Mars Observer in September 1992.
Following the Commercial Titan III's retirement, LC-40 was converted to complement LC-41 in the launches of the Titan IV. As was typical for the Titan family, almost all launches in the decade carried military payloads; the only exception to this was NASA and ESA's Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn in October 1997. Going into the new millennium, the cost of Titan launches led to Lockheed Martin (who assumed the control of Titan following Martin Marietta's merger with Lockheed) winding down and announcing the retirement of the Titan family in favor of their cheaper Atlas launch vehicles. As such, the last Titan IV launches at the ITL were made from LC-40, with LC-41 and the SMARF converted to process and launch the Atlas V. Over its lifetime, LC-40 supported a total of 55 Titan launches, including 26 Titan IIICs, eight Titan 34Ds, four Commercial Titan IIIs, and 17 Titan IVs. The final Titan launch from LC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite carried on a Titan IV-B on April 30, 2005.
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Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), sometimes referred to as "Slick Forty," is one of two launch pads located at the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It initially opened as Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) and was used by the United States Air Force alongside the neighboring Space Launch Complex 41 for the Titan III program. It first saw use by the Titan IIIC throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before getting retrofitted for the Titan 34D during the 1980s. In the 1990s, Martin Marietta and the Air Force upgraded it to launch the Commercial Titan III, but the rocket's lack of success caused the pad to be used by the Titan IV throughout the decade and into the 2000s.
Following the Titan family's retirement, the SLC-40 lease was given to SpaceX in 2007 for use by their new rocket, the Falcon 9. Since the early 2010s, the pad has transformed into a high-volume launch site for the Falcon 9, being mainly used to service the company's Starlink megaconstellation. As of November 2025, the pad has hosted over 290 Falcon 9 launches.
In near future, SpaceX will add a new Falcon 9 landing zone within the SLC‑40 launch complex to replace Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Launch Complex 40 was originally constructed by the United States Air Force as one of two launch pads of the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex (ITL), tasked with launching Titan III rockets with solid rocket boosters. The ITL was similar to Launch Complex 39 at the nearby Kennedy Space Center, where Titans would get assembled at the Vertical Integration Building (demolished in 2006), have their boosters built and attached at the Solid Motor Assembly Building (now used by SpaceX to process Falcon 9 payloads), and launched from either LC-40 or Launch Complex 41 (LC-41, now SLC-41).
LC-40 hosted its inaugural launch in June 1965, a Titan IIIC rocket with a 9,500 kg (21,000 lb) mass simulator to test the Transtage upper stage. Almost every Titan IIIC launch from the pad carried a military payload, the vast majority of them being classified reconnaissance satellites. Additionally, the ITL was planned to launch the Titan IIIM for the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, using it as a testing ground before the operational launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base's SLC-6 would be activated. The only MOL launch made before the program's cancellation occurred at LC-40, with OPS 0855 lifting off in November 1966 with the first capsule to be reused, Gemini SC-2 previously flown on Gemini 2.
Going into the 1970s, LC-40 became the dedicated launch site for the Titan IIIC within the ITL, as LC-41 would undergo modifications to launch the Titan IIIE. Throughout the rest of the decade, the complex would see approximately one to three Titan IIIC launches a year until the rocket's replacement with the Titan 34D in the early 1980s. Similarly to its predecessor, every Titan 34D launch from the pad was for military purposes, being used to put payloads into geostationary transfer orbit.
In the late 1980s, Titan manufacturer Martin Marietta and the Air Force converted the ITL to their new Titan configurations: LC-40 would be used to launch the civilian-focused Commercial Titan III, while LC-41 would be for the military-oriented Titan IV. Additionally, Titan IV processing would go through the newly built Solid Motor Assembly and Readiness Facility (now used by United Launch Alliance for future assembly of Vulcan Centaur rockets) before launch. This setup did not last, as the Commercial Titan III's price compared to cheaper systems like Delta II and Ariane 4 limited its customer base into early retirement. That being said, a handful of notable payloads were launched from LC-40 in this era, like Intelsat 603 in March 1990 (of which a stage malfunction caused it to be visited by Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-49) and the failed Mars Observer in September 1992.
Following the Commercial Titan III's retirement, LC-40 was converted to complement LC-41 in the launches of the Titan IV. As was typical for the Titan family, almost all launches in the decade carried military payloads; the only exception to this was NASA and ESA's Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn in October 1997. Going into the new millennium, the cost of Titan launches led to Lockheed Martin (who assumed the control of Titan following Martin Marietta's merger with Lockheed) winding down and announcing the retirement of the Titan family in favor of their cheaper Atlas launch vehicles. As such, the last Titan IV launches at the ITL were made from LC-40, with LC-41 and the SMARF converted to process and launch the Atlas V. Over its lifetime, LC-40 supported a total of 55 Titan launches, including 26 Titan IIICs, eight Titan 34Ds, four Commercial Titan IIIs, and 17 Titan IVs. The final Titan launch from LC-40 was the Lacrosse-5 reconnaissance satellite carried on a Titan IV-B on April 30, 2005.