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Launch Services Program Launch Sites

Kennedy Space Center

Located along Florida’s central Atlantic coast between Jacksonville and Miami, our nation’s premiere spaceport is ideal for spacecraft requiring a west-east or equatorial orbit.

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The IXPE spacecraft is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars. Launch occurred at 1:00 a.m. EST. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Located along Florida’s central Atlantic coast between Jacksonville and Miami, our nation’s premiere spaceport is ideal for spacecraft requiring a west-east or equatorial orbit.

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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the Lucy spacecraft aboard is seen in this 2 minute and 30 second exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to study Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids. Like the mission's namesake – the fossilized human ancestor, "Lucy," whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity's evolution – Lucy will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the Lucy spacecraft aboard is seen in this 2 minute and 30 second exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids. Like the mission’s namesake – the fossilized human ancestor, “Lucy,” whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity’s evolution – Lucy will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA/Bill Ingalls

Vandenberg Space Force Base

Located along California’s central coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Vandenberg is preferred for spacecraft requiring a north-south, or polar, orbit.

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NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft is seen atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft onboard, is seen, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, at Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. DART is the world’s first full-scale planetary defense test, demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection technology. The mission was built and is managed by Johns Hopkins APL for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
NASA/Bill Ingalls

Wallops Flight Facility

Operated by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Wallops is NASA’s principal facility for suborbital research programs. 

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The Antares rocket launching from Pad-0A with a bright white plume underneath against a mostly clear blue sky. A large water tower is stands to the left.
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard, is seen as it launches from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. Cygnus is on its way to rendezvous with the space station. The spacecraft will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA/Chris Perry

Reagan Test Site – Kwajalein Atoll

The Kwajalein site is located between Hawaii and Australia and is used for missions requiring equatorial orbits and low inclinations.

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Orbital Science Corp.'s L-1011 aircraft "Stargazer" flies over the runway on Kwajalein Atoll.
Orbital Science Corp.’s L-1011 aircraft “Stargazer” flies over the runway on Kwajalein Atoll with the company’s Pegasus rocket slung underneath. Kwajalein is part of the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean. It’s also part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions.
NASA

Additional Launch Sites

Additional launch sites specific to LSP’s VADR launches include Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand; and SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Kodiak Island, located in Alaska, is considered one of the best locations in the world for polar launch operations, providing a wide launch azimuth and unobstructed downrange flight path.

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Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 9:00 p.m., carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA.