 Aerial view of KSC Launch Complex 48. Launch Complex 39 with its pads 39A and 39B are both visible behind the pad. | |||||
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| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 28°35′56″N80°35′20″W / 28.598848°N 80.588968°W /28.598848; -80.588968 | ||||
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) | ||||
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) | ||||
| Short name | LC-48 | ||||
| Established | October 2020 | ||||
| Operator | NASA | ||||
| Launch pad | 1 (planned 2) | ||||
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Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site for small launchers and spacecraft. It is located south ofLaunch Complex 39A and north ofSpace Launch Complex 41.[1]
The construction of LC-48 began in November 2019 but was halted in March 2020 due to the ongoingCOVID-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 constructedLC-39C within the bounds ofLC-39B with the purpose of serving small launchers, but the operational constraints of sharing the site on a non-interference basis with both theSpace Launch System andOmegA (now cancelled) 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]
As of March 2025, LC-48 has seen no launches, and none are currently planned from the complex.
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