Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site for small launchers and spacecraft. It is located south of Launch Complex 39A and north of Space Launch Complex 41.[1]
Launch Complex 48 as seen from the International Space Station on May 2020
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| Location | Kennedy Space Center | ||||
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| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern Standard Time) | ||||
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern Daylight Time) | ||||
| Short name | LC-48 | ||||
| Established | October 2020 | ||||
| Operator | NASA | ||||
| Launch pad(s) | 1 (planned 2) | ||||
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Began in November 2019, the construction of LC-48 was halted in March 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Construction was resumed in June 2020, with the completion of the first pad in October 2020.[2]
LC-48 is designed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.[3] With another pad constructed, LC-48 could support up to 104 launches per year, though actual usage is expected to be well below that.[1]
NASA had previously constructed LC-39C within the bounds of LC-39B with the purpose of serving small launchers, but the operational constraints of sharing the site on a non-interference basis with both the Space Launch System and OmegA launch vehicles, along with greater interest by commercial parties than originally anticipated, led NASA to pursue the construction of a dedicated launch site for this class of vehicles.[4]
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