After planning began in 2016 for a small, multi-user launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Launch Complex 48 is now ready to support small to medium lift launch vehicles.
The complex is the first new launch pad built at Kennedy since the 1960s when the much larger LC-39A and B pads, which have hosted the Apollo Saturn IB and V rockets, Space Shuttles, Ares I-X, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavies, were constructed.
The 10-acre complex is situated about one mile southeast of LC-39A, and one mile northwest of SLC-41, home of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. Pad 48 is what’s known as a “clean pad” design, meaning it gives multiple users, all with different launch systems, the ability to launch from the complex. This is part of NASA’s ongoing effort of encouraging commercial spaceflight development.
“Launch Complex 48 fills a need for new, low-cost launch systems with very fast turnaround cycles,” explained Keith Britton, a senior project manager in KSC’s engineering directorate. “This complex creates a significant savings for companies. They are looking for that clean pad concept, not having to develop the infrastructure we have developed.”
As a clean pad, the launch complex lacks many pieces of infrastructure typically found at other sites, such as an integration facility, launch tower, and ground support equipment such as propellant storage tanks. This gives the site more flexibility because it was not built to accommodate a specific vehicle or family of vehicles.
Render of LC-48 with both phases of construction complete – via NASA
Dedicated pads either require extensive modifications to be used by more than one rocket (SLC-41 with Atlas V and Vulcan) or require rockets to use the exact same commodities and systems (LC-39B with SLS and the now-cancelled OmegA).
The launch pad itself consists of a four foot thick concrete pad which measures 42 by 54 feet, a small basin that can be used to capture water from a sound suppression system, should a launch provider use one, and an area where fuel tankers containing propellants can be stored on site.
LC-48 would permit the use of several different propellant types, including but not limited to liquid oxygen, liquid methane, liquid hydrogen, RP-1 kerosene, and hypergolics. High-pressure gases such as nitrogen and helium would also be allowed at LC-48.
The Kennedy Space Center can provide propellant loading skids, pipes, and connection hardware, as well as storage containers for liquid methane and liquid oxygen to be used for operations at LC-48. Users of the pad can also bring their own equipment for these or other commodities.
According to an Environmental Assessment published in February 2019, development of LC-48 was planned to occur in two potential phases.
Phase one is consistent with what can be seen at the site today: a concrete pad used for launches and a staging area for propellant trucks. There have been some deviations from the original site plan in early 2019, as there were initially plans to include a 30-foot berm between the launch pad and the propellant staging area to protect against a RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) on the pad. However, there is currently no berm present and it is unknown whether one will be built in the future.
According to the Environmental Assessment, LC-48 will be able to support up to 52 launches per year, with vehicles having a maximum liftoff mass of 136,078 kg (300,000 lbs), and a maximum thrust of up to 227 metric tons (500,000 lbs). No landings would be supported at LC-48, although any propulsively landed vehicles would likely use Landing Zones 1 and 2 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), which are currently used exclusively by SpaceX but are available for other operators.
Future land use map. (Credit: NASA/KSC)
Phase two would see the construction of a somewhat similar looking launch site just to the south of the first. However, this second site would contain additional infrastructure, such as permanent lightning protection towers, a Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF), water deluge system, and even a dedicated engine test recertification stand for reusable boosters or engines.
The second site would also be able to support up to 52 launches per year, giving the whole complex a potential launch capability of up to 104 launches per year. Demand is expected to be much lower than what the site is theoretically capable of, and as of publication, phase two would only be built if the demand materializes.
Planning for the site began in 2016, after the decision was made not to use LC-39C. By locating the site within 39B’s perimeter, any 39C customer would be at the mercy of the Artemis program launch schedule. Launches of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) from 39B would always take priority over 39C users.
By relocating the new LC-48 site south of 39A, launch campaigns at the new pad would not be regularly interrupted by operations at nearby complexes except for certain launch trajectories that would bring a potential debris field down upon the pad should a nearby launching rocket fail early in flight.
After receiving funding, and developing the requirements for the site, contractors were hired in 2018 to begin finalizing the pad design, which was then completed in May 2019.
Construction began in late November of 2019, with work on the site halting in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work then resumed on the site in June with construction completed in October.
Presently, there have been no publicly announced customers that currently plan to utilize LC-48. Boeing had planned to use it as a potential launch site for their Phantom Express (XS-1) spaceplane being developed alongside DARPA. However, development of the XS-1 was dropped by Boeing in the beginning of 2020.
LC-48’s location to the south of LC-39A, photographed from the International Space Station in May 2020 – via NASA
With Boeing no longer planning to utilize the launch site, some questioned whether it would even be built. NASA is currently working with multiple launch companies about the potential use of LC-48; however, at this time nothing has been officially signed or announced.
One potential customer for LC-48 could be Astra with their Rocket 3 launch vehicle. Rocket 3 is launched from a mobile launch platform, so no permanent launch mount is needed at the site.
The recently revived Vector Launch is also designing a similar mobile launch system.
The site could also be used to launch sounding rockets, similar to what NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia offers.
“A number of folks have come to us about Launch Complex 48 who aren’t in a position to use it just yet but are getting close,” said Tom Engler, director of Kennedy Space Center Planning and Development. “We’re continuing those discussions. My expectation is that during the 2021 timeframe, we will start to see companies launch from 48.”
(Lead photo via NASA)