Short name LZ-1 Status Active Operator SpaceX | Launch pad(s) 1 landing pad Landings 3 (3 successes) | |
 | ||
First landing 22 December 2015 (Falcon 9 Flight 20) Last landing 19 February 2017 (CRS-10 mission) Launch site Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | ||
Historic landing of falcon 9 first stage at landing zone 1 og 2 mission
Landing Zone 1 is a landing facility for recovering components of SpaceX's VTVL reusable launch vehicles. The facility was built on land leased in February 2015 from the United States Air Force, on the site of the former Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13.
Contents
- Historic landing of falcon 9 first stage at landing zone 1 og 2 mission
- Site
- Landing history
- References
Site
The site consists of a main pad 282 feet (86 m) in diameter marked with the stylized X from the SpaceX company logo. An additional four 150 feet (46 m) diameter pads were initially planned to be built to support the simultaneous recovery of additional boosters of the Falcon Heavy, although only 2 additional are planned for the near future. Planned additional infrastructure to support operations includes improved roadways for crane movement, a rocket pedestal area, remote-controlled fire suppression systems in case of a landing failure, and a large concrete foundation, away from the future three landing pads, for attaching the booster stage when taking the rocket from vertical to horizontal orientation.
Operations at the facility followed seven earlier landing tests by SpaceX, five of which involved intentional descents into the open ocean, followed by two failed landing tests on an ocean-going platform. As of March 2, 2015, the Air Force's sign for LC-13 was briefly replaced with a sign identifying it as Landing Complex 1. The site was renamed Landing Zone 1 prior to its first use as a landing site. Elon Musk indicated in January 2016 that he thought the likelihood of successful landings for all of the attempted landings in 2016 would be approximately 70 percent, hopefully rising to 90 percent in 2017, and cautioned that the company expects a few more failures.
In July 2016, SpaceX applied for permission to build two additional landing pads at Landing Zone 1. These pad are needed for landing the boosters of planned Falcon Heavy flights.
SpaceX has also signed a lease for a West Coast landing pad at Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 4, and is currently finished construction.
Landing history
After approval from the FAA, SpaceX accomplished its first successful landing at the complex with Falcon 9 Flight 20 on 22 December 2015 UTC; this was the 8th controlled-descent test of a Falcon 9 first stage.
A second successful landing at LZ-1 took place shortly after midnight, local time (EDT) on July 18, 2016 as part of the CRS-9 mission, which was the Falcon 9's 27th flight.