LZ-1 receives its final Falcon landing as SpaceX hand over the landing pad

Date:
Sun, 03 Aug 2025 02:00:33 +0000

Description:
After years of delivering iconic views of Falcon boosters performing Return
to Launch Site (RTLS) The post LZ-1 receives its final Falcon landing as SpaceX hand over the landing pad appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

After years of delivering iconic views of Falcon boosters performing Return
to Launch Site (RTLS) landings, SpaceX is retiring Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1).





The plot of land for LZ-1 was leased to SpaceX for five years by the U.S. Air Forces 45th Space Wing in February 2015. The concrete pad was constructed later that year and first used during the historic ORBCOMM OG2 Mission 2.
That flight featured booster B1019 achieving the worlds first propulsive landing of an orbital-class booster, marking SpaceXs return-to-flight mission for the Falcon 9 rocket.

LZ-1 was joined by Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) in 2017, with initial plans for a third zone to support triple RTLS recoveries for Falcon Heavy missionsthough those never materialized. The two pads have since been used together nine times for recoverable Falcon Heavy launches, most recently for GOES-U in
2024. Now, after a decade and 53 landings, SpaceX is retiring the pad to return the land to U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45. The site, technically known as Launch Complex 13 (LC-13), hosted suborbital Atlas ICBM tests and orbital Atlas-Agena launches in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 2023, the Space Force reassigned LC-13 to two emerging companies: Phantom Space (founded in 2019) and Vaya Space (founded in 2017).

They will share the facility to develop their own launch pads, restoring the site to active launch operations for the first time in 50 years. However, updates from both companies have been sparsethe last news post on Phantom Spaces website is over a year old, and Vaya Spaces activity appears similarly stagnant.

Phantom Space is developing its 20-meter-tall Daytona rocket, named for founder Jim Cantrells passion for motor racing.

It aims to deliver over 600 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), powered by ten kerolox Hadley engines from Ursa Major (nine on the first stage and one on
the second), in a configuration reminiscent of Rocket Labs Electron. No firm launch date has been announced, though rumors point to 2026 or 2027.

Vaya Space is pursuing a comparable vehicle called DAUNTLESS, a
22-meter-tall, two-stage rocket using a hybrid propulsion system with solid high-density polyethylene fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. It targets over
500 kg to LEO, with the company eyeing a 2027 debut. The Space Forces
decision not to renew SpaceXs lease stems from a policy shift by Space Launch Delta 45: phasing out separate launch and landing pads.

Going forward, all new landing zones must be integrated into the same complex as the launch site. For instance, a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40)the worlds busiest padwould need to return to a landing zone at
SLC-40 for RTLS recoveries.

This change aims to minimize disruptions to the growing roster of operators
at Cape Canaveral, including Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Relativity, and ULA.
By consolidating activities, the range can close off a single area rather
than multiple zones, helping to boost overall launch cadence from the Eastern Range.

SpaceX enthusiasts can look forward to the development of new landing zones
at SLC-40 and LC-39A in the coming years.



The post LZ-1 receives its final Falcon landing as SpaceX hand over the landing pad appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/08/lz-1-final-falcon-landing-pad/


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