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

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

.
The facility is located on Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...

, Alaska.

The launch facility has handled 14 launches since it opened in 1991—most of those for the US government, with 100 percent success rate to date. , two launches are planned for 2010.

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 satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

s for launch, a fully enclosed 17-story-tall rocket assembly building and two independent range and telemetry systems. The complex sits on 3700 acres (15 km²) of state-owned land. 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'.

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

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 and the Space Test Program

Space Test Program

The Space Test Program is the primary provider of spaceflight for the United States Department of Defense space science and technology community. STP is conducted by the Space Development and Test Wing of the United States Air Force...

, launching Starshine 3, Sapphire, PCSat, and PICOSatS on September 30, 2001.

Launch	Date (UTC)	Vehicle	Payload	Launch pad	Result	Remarks
1	September 30, 2001	Athena I	Starshine 3, Sapphire, PCSat, and PICOSat	Pad ??	Success
14	November 19, 2010 06:48	Minotaur IV Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the Peacekeeper missile. It is operated by Orbital Sciences Corporation, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying the HTV-2a Hypersonic Test Vehicle...	FASTSAT, STPSat 2, Radio Aurora Explorer, O/OREOS CubeSat	Pad ??	Success
Scheduled launches

External links

• 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.