Launch Pad 0 (LP-0), also known as Launch Complex 0 (LC-0),[2][3] or Launch Area 0 (LA-0), is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, in the United States. MARS is located adjacent to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF),[2] which ran the launch complex until 2003. WFF continues to provide various support services to MARS launches under contract with the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Launch site | MARS (WFF) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Short name | LP-0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | NASA VCSFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total launches | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Launch pad(s) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The launch complex consists of three individual launch pads, LP-0A, LP-0B, and Launch Complex-2 (LC-2).
37°51′N 75°28′W / 37.850°N 75.467°W
LP-0A (located at 37°50′02″N 75°29′16″W / 37.833959°N 75.4878331°W) was first built for the failed Conestoga rocket program.[4] The original launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008.[5] A new pad facility was built from 2009 to 2011 for Orbital Sciences Taurus II, now renamed Antares.[6] Pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility for launcher/payload mating and a wheeled transporter/erector that will roll out and erect the rocket on its launch pad about 24 hours prior to launch.[6] The first launch of Antares occurred on April 21, 2013.[7]
The pad was reinforced with pilings and features a liquid fueling facility, flame trench, and deluge system for cooling and sound suppression. The pad is capable of supporting a gross liftoff weight of 453.6 metric tons (1,000,000 lb) and can launch payloads of up to 5,035 kilograms (11,100 lb) into low Earth orbit.[8]
On October 28, 2014, an Orbital Systems Antares rocket, flying as mission Cygnus CRS Orb-3, crashed 6 seconds after takeoff and appeared to have done significant damage to the launch pad itself. On October 29, 2014, teams of investigators began examining debris at the crash site.[9] By May 2015, estimates had been revised down to around US$13 million. At that time, NASA had committed US$5 million, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority committed US$3 million and Orbital ATK US$3 million. Repairs were underway and planned to be completed by September 2015, but repairs were only funded up to August with Virginia CSFA requesting that Orbital provide the remaining US$2 million. On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed.[10] The launch pad resumed flight operations with the Cygnus CRS OA-5 mission on October 17, 2016.[11]
In March 2021, Rocket Lab announced that they would launch their upcoming medium-lift launch vehicle Neutron from LP-0A,[12] with the initial launch planned for as early as 2024.[13] However, Rocket Lab later opted to construct their own Neutron launch site south of Pad 0B.
Antares will continue flights from Pad 0A indefinitely, as Northrop Grumman transitions from the 200-series to the 300-series of the rocket. Said transition will require moderate renovations to the pad and surrounding facilities in order to support the upgrade rocket's larger first stage.[14]
Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Result | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
23 October 1995, 22:02 | Conestoga 1620 | Meteor recoverable experimental satellite | Failure | The only orbital launch attempt of Conestoga. |
21 April 2013, 21:00 | Antares 110 | Antares A-ONE | Success[15] | |
18 September 2013, 14:58 | Antares 110 | Cygnus Orb-D1 | Success[16] | COTS Demo Mission |
9 January 2014, 18:07[17][18][19] | Antares 120 | Cygnus CRS Orb-1 | Success | First Cygnus.
ISS re-supply mission. |
13 July 2014, 16:52[20] | Antares 120 | Cygnus CRS Orb-2 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
28 October 2014, 22:22[21] | Antares 130 | Cygnus CRS Orb-3 | Failure[22] | Pad damaged by explosion and fire. |
17 October 2016, 23:45 [23] | Antares 230 | Cygnus CRS OA-5 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
12 November 2017, 12:19 | Antares 230 | Cygnus CRS OA-8E | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
21 May 2018, 08:44 | Antares 230 | Cygnus CRS OA-9E | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
17 November 2018, 09:01 | Antares 230 | Cygnus NG-10 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
17 April 2019, 16:46 | Antares 230 | Cygnus NG-11 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
2 November 2019, 13:59 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-12 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
15 February 2020, 20:21 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-13 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
3 October 2020, 02:16 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-14 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
20 February 2021, 17:36 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-15 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
10 August 2021, 22:01 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-16 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
19 February 2022, 17:40 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-17 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
7 November 2022, 10:32 | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-18 | Success | ISS re-supply mission. |
LP-0B (located at 37°49′52″N 75°29′29″W / 37.8311576°N 75.4913829°W) became operational in 1999,[24] and was subsequently upgraded in 2003 with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.[25] It is active, and is currently used by Northrop Grumman Minotaur rockets. The first launch from LP-0B was of a Minotaur I in December 2006,[26] and was the first launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
Pad 0B hosted the Minotaur V launch of the LADEE lunar orbiter in 2013, becoming the first (and so far only) beyond-Earth mission to launch from Wallops.
On October 19, 2017, Vector Launch announced plans to conduct three launches from near Pad 0B with its then-in-development Vector-R small satellite launch vehicle over the subsequent two years, with an option for five additional launches.[27] However, following the company's bankruptcy and restructuring, plans for these launches are unlikely.
Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Result | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
16 December 2006, 12:00 | Minotaur I | TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1 | Success[28] | |
24 April 2007, 06:48 | Minotaur I | NFIRE | Success[28] | |
22 August 2008, 09:10 | ALV X-1 | Hy-BoLT / SOAREX-VI | Failure[29] | Suborbital launch. |
19 May 2009, 23:55 | Minotaur I | TacSat-3 | Success | |
30 June 2011, 03:09 | Minotaur I | USAF ORS-1 Satellite | Success | |
7 September 2013, 03:27 | Minotaur V | LADEE mission to Lunar orbit | Success | |
20 November 2013, 01:15 | Minotaur I | ORS 3, STPSat-3 | Success | |
15 July 2020, 13:46 [30] | Minotaur IV | NROL-129 | Success | Classified NRO payload. |
15 June 2021, 13:35 | Minotaur I | NROL-111 | Success | Classified NRO payload. |
In October 2018, Rocket Lab announced that it had selected Mid-Atlantic as its second launch site (the launch site in Mahia had at the time 2 pads, so this was Rocket Lab's third launch pad) called Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) or Launch Pad 0C (located at 37°50′00″N 75°29′18″W / 37.833266°N 75.4882304°W). The new launch pad is near Pad 0A (and shares some systems with Pad 0A).[31][32][33][34] Rockets launched from LC-2 are integrated at Rocket Lab's integration facility, located just a few miles away from the pad. They are transported to the pad and integrated onto the strongback.[35]
In December 2019, construction was completed and Rocket Lab inaugurated Launch Complex 2 at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.[31] In April 2020, Rocket Lab performed a Wet Dress Rehearsal with an Electron rocket on the pad.[33]
The first launch from LC-2 successfully occurred on January 24, 2023. An Electron rocket carried three satellites to orbit in a mission named "Virginia is for Launch Lovers".[36][1][37]
Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Result | Remarks |
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24 January 2023, 23:00 | Electron | HawkEye 360 Cluster 6 | Success | First launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex-2.[38] |
16 March 2023, 22:39 | Electron | Capella 9, 10 | Success | |
18 June 2023, 01:25 | HASTE | DYNAMO-A | Success | First launch of the HASTE program; suborbital trajectory |
21 March 2024, 07:25 | Electron | NROL-123 | Success | First NRO launch on an Electron from MARS. |
Chart excludes the only launch of Conestoga from pad 0A in 1995; the launch attempted to put a satellite into orbit but was unsuccessful. Chart also excludes the suborbital launch of ALV X-1 on 22 August 2008 from pad 0B.