Kodiak Launch Complex
The Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) is a commercial rocket launch facility for sub-orbital and orbital space launch vehicles owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a public corporation of the State of Alaska.[1][2] The facility is located on Kodiak Island, Alaska.
The launch facility has handled 16 launches since it opened in 1998, most of those for the U.S. government.
Launch facilities
The Kodiak spaceport has two launch pads with a mission control center that includes 64 workstations with high-speed communications and data links. There is a clean room for preparing satellites for launch, a fully enclosed 17-story-tall rocket assembly building and two independent range and telemetry systems. The complex sits on 3,700 acres (15 km2) of state-owned land. Launch pad 1 is designed for orbital launches, while launch pad 2 is intended for sub-orbital flights. A third launch pad is planned which would allow the facility to support quick launches of satellites: under 24 hours to launch from 'go ahead'.[2]
Launch history
The first orbital launch from the Kodiak Launch Complex was an Athena I rocket which carried out the Kodiak Star mission for NASA and the Space Test Program, launching Starshine 3, Sapphire, PCSat, and PICOSatS on September 30, 2001.[3] After a launch failure in August 2014,[4] Alaska Aerospace made plans to repair and upgrade the facilities to support larger rockets, but Governor Bill Walker stopped work in December 2014 as part of an order to address a state budget shortfall.[5]
No. | Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Pad | Result | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | November 6, 1998 01:32 |
First stage: Aerojet SR-19-AJ-1 Second stage: Hercules M57A1 |
ait-1[6] | LP-2 | Mission for the U.S. Air Force. Carried various experiments and instruments, including a "Global Positioning System antenna, Honeywell GPS Measure Unit, Electromagnetic Radio Tornography experiment, Langmuir probe and an Air Force nosetip".[7] | |
2 | September 15, 1999 21:00[8] |
First stage: Castor 4B Second stage: Hercules M57A1 |
ait-2[9][10] | LP-2 | Mission for the U.S. Air Force. Carried various experiments and instruments, including a Langmuir probe, the Boston Rocket Ionospheric Tomography Experiment, an interceptor seeker, and calibration equipment.[9] | |
3 | March 19, 2001 | Aries 47[11] | QRLV-1 | LP-2 | Mission for the U.S. Air Force. | |
4 | September 30, 2001 02:40[3] |
Athena I (LM-001) | LP-1 | Success | Kodiak Star mission for Lockheed/NASA; first orbital launch from Kodiak. | |
5 | November 9, 2001 18:12 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Failure | West Coast Risk-Reduction Flight (WCRRF) for the U.S. Army.[12] Rocket exploded 56 seconds after launch.[4] | |
6 | April 24, 2002 | Aries 49[11] | QRLV-2 | LP-2 | Mission for the U.S. Air Force. | |
7 | December 15, 2004 04:45[13] |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Failure | IFT-13c mission for MDA. Target successfully launched from Kodiak, but interceptor failed to launch from Kwajalein. | |
8 | February 14, 2005 06:22[13] |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Failure | IFT-14 mission for MDA. Target successfully launched from Kodiak, but interceptor failed to launch from Kwajalein. | |
9 | February 23, 2006 16:09 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Success | FTX-01 mission for MDA. | |
10 | September 1, 2006 17:22 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Success | FTG-02 mission for MDA. Both the target at Kodiak and interceptor at Kwajalein successfully launched.[14] | |
11 | May 25, 2007 14:15 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Failure | FTG-03 mission for MDA. Target missile from Kodiak flew off course and interceptor was not launched. | |
12 | September 28, 2007 20:01 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Success | FTG-03a mission for MDA. Successful intercept. | |
13 | July 18, 2008 22:47[15] |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Success | FTX-03 mission for MDA. Target launched from Kodiak was tracked by land-, sea- and space-based tracking systems. Navy and Air Force units simulated interceptor shootdowns.[16] | |
14 | December 5, 2008 20:04 |
Polaris A-3 STARS-1[12] | LP-2 | Success | FTG-05 mission for MDA. Successful intercept of a target launched from Kodiak by an interceptor launched from Vandenberg AFB.[17] | |
15 | November 20, 2010 01:24[18] |
Minotaur IV | LP-1 | Success | STP-S26 mission for the U.S. Air Force. Included a Hydrazine Auxiliary Propulsion System (HAPS) to move vehicle to a secondary orbit after ejecting payloads. | |
16 | September 27, 2011 15:49[19] |
Minotaur IV+ | TacSat-4 | LP-1 | Success | Mission for the U.S. Air Force. |
17 | August 25, 2014 ~08:00[20] |
Polaris STARS IV[21] | Advanced Hypersonic Weapon | LP-1 | Failure | Flight Test 2 for the U.S. Army's AHW program. Flight terminated by range safety four seconds after launch due to rocket anomaly.[4][20][22] Kodiak's LP-1 launch tower, payload processing facility, and integrated processing facility suffered damage due to the termination.[4] |
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kodiak Launch Complex. |
- Alaska Aerospace Corporation
- Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Annual Reports from 2002 to present hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Economic impact of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation on the Kodiak Island Borough and the State of Alaska 2006 hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Environmental monitoring report, FTG-02 launch : Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak, Alaska / prepared for Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (2007) hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
- Environmental monitoring report, FT-04-1 launch : Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak, Alaska (2006) hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
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