Recent Activity
Artemis II crewed lunar flyby readiness milestones completed at LC-39B Q1 2026; SpaceX continues Falcon 9/Heavy and Dragon ops from LC-39A.
Investor Brief
Crown jewel of U.S. civil space infrastructure and the only U.S. site qualified for SLS/Orion. LC-39A's SpaceX lease anchors a unique public-private cadence model that other agencies are now copying.
Ownership
Parent Entity
Regulatory Regime
Anchor Tenants
Latitude Advantage
Launch Azimuth Range
Employees
Country
🇺🇸United States
Region
North America
Established
1,962
Launches / Year
40+
Years Active
64
Strategic Position
28.5728° N, 80.6490° W
Azimuth: 35°–120° (LEO 28.5° to ISS 51.6°; high-inclination restricted by Atlantic populated areas)
28.6°N — Florida's easterly Atlantic corridor harvests ~1,470 km/h of Earth-rotation velocity, ideal for LEO/GTO and the U.S. baseline for GEO economics.
Future Milestones
- 2026
Artemis II — first crewed Orion lunar flyby from LC-39B
- 2027
Artemis III — first crewed lunar landing since 1972
- 2026
Starship LC-39A first orbital launch attempt (target window)
About
Kennedy Space Center is NASA's primary launch facility and one of the most iconic spaceports in history. Located on Merritt Island, Florida, it has served as the departure point for every U.S. crewed orbital mission since 1968. Today it hosts SpaceX Falcon 9/Heavy launches from LC-39A alongside NASA's Artemis missions from LC-39B.
Key Features
Historic Launch Complex 39A and 39B used for Apollo, Shuttle, and Artemis
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) — one of the largest buildings in the world by volume
SpaceX operates LC-39A for Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and future Starship missions
Visitor Complex welcomes over 1.5 million tourists annually
Adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for coordinated operations
Rockets That Launch Here
Companies Operating Here
Orbit Types
Notable Launches
Apollo 11 (1969) — First crewed Moon landing
STS-1 (1981) — First Space Shuttle mission
STS-31 (1990) — Hubble Space Telescope deployment
Artemis I (2022) — First SLS/Orion uncrewed lunar flight
Falcon Heavy Demo (2018) — SpaceX's first heavy-lift launch
Upcoming Launches From This Site
Next missions scheduled to fly from Kennedy Space Center
- Provider
- SpaceX
- Rocket
- Falcon Heavy
- NET
- Pad
- Launch Complex 39A
- Provider
- SpaceX
- Rocket
- Falcon Heavy
- NET
- Pad
- Launch Complex 39A
- Provider
- SpaceX
- Rocket
- Falcon Heavy
- NET
- Pad
- Launch Complex 39A
Recent Launches From This Site
Most recent missions flown from Kennedy Space Center
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink 16SpaceXSuccess
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink 17SpaceXSuccess
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink 21SpaceXSuccess
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Crew-2SpaceXSuccess
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink 25SpaceXSuccess
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink 26SpaceXSuccess