Space Launch Complex 40 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX to restore damaged Cape Canaveral launch pad to service in December

November 1, 2017

SpaceX is set to resume launches from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral in December with the liftoff of a space station-bound supply ship on top of a Falcon 9 booster, a major step in boosting the company’s flight rate and readying for the debut of the long-delayed Falcon Heavy rocket.

Photos: Falcon 9 blasts off, then breaks apart in mid-air

June 29, 2015

Cameras positioned around SpaceX’s launch facility at Cape Canaveral captured stunning photos of the Falcon 9 rocket’s picturesque blastoff into a sun-splashed sky Sunday morning, but the photogenic launch went awry minutes later.

Falcon 9 rocket destroyed in launch mishap

June 28, 2015

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship loaded with more than 4,000 pounds of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station — including a critical docking adapter needed by future U.S. crew ships — broke apart in a shower of debris shortly after launch Sunday.

Photos: SpaceX supply ship poised for blastoff

June 28, 2015

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, standing 208 feet tall, is mounted on a Cape Canaveral launch pad for liftoff with a fresh package of supplies and research experiments for the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

June 27, 2015

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket disintegrated shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, dealing a blow to the entrepreneurial space company and NASA’s supply chain to the International Space Station.

Falcon 9 rocket passes last major preflight test

June 26, 2015

Ground crews plan to load the final cargo into SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship Saturday after the capsule’s Falcon 9 rocket booster briefly fired up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for a flight readiness check.

Photos: SpaceX’s passenger spaceship flies on first test run

May 7, 2015

It didn’t go into space, but SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule fired off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a 99-second test flight to demonstrate a crucial safety mechanism that would save astronauts from a catastrophic rocket failure. View photos of the human-rated spacecraft’s first flight.

Video: Dragon test articles flies pad abort profile

May 6, 2015

A test article of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon flew on an arcing minute-and-a-half demonstration flight over Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, launching atop eight 3D-printed rocket thrusters and descending to a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX crew capsule completes dramatic abort test

May 6, 2015

A rocket-powered prototype of SpaceX’s human-rated crew capsule vaulted off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a brief mile-high test flight of the spaceship’s emergency crew safety system.

Don’t blink: SpaceX crew escape demo will go by in a flash

May 5, 2015

SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned test model of the company’s Dragon crew capsule Wednesday on a whirlwind 107-second flight through the skies over Cape Canaveral.