[LC-39C] KSC Launch Complex 39C Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

1,424 views · Published 17 July 2015 · 19:07 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: Matthew Travis · 2015 · Science & Technology

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Video by Valerie Phillips/ Zero-G News

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida took another step forward in its transformation into a 21st Century multi-user spaceport with the creation of a new launch pad that is designed to attract smaller aerospace companies and enable them to develop and launch their vehicles from the center.

The ceremony will be hosted by Kennedy Director Bob Cabana and representatives from the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program and Kennedy’s Center Planning and Development and Engineering Directorates.

KSC’s newest Launch Pad, designated 39C, is designed to accommodate Small Class Vehicles. Located in the southeast area of the Launch Complex 39B perimeter, this new concrete pad measures about 50 feet wide by about 100 feet long.  Launch Complex 39C will serve as a multi-purpose site allowing companies to test vehicles and capabilities in the smaller class of rockets, making it more affordable for smaller companies to break into the commercial spaceflight market.

As part of this capability, NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program developed a universal propellant servicing system, which can provide liquid oxygen and liquid methane fueling capabilities for a variety of small class rockets.  This system is slated for operational readiness in the summer of 2016.

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