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Landing Zones 1 and 2

SpaceX's landing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Landing Zones 1 and 2map
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This article is about the LC-13 Florida landing zones. For the other landing zones, see SpaceX landing zone.

Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, also known as LZ-1 and LZ-2 respectively, are landing facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station used by SpaceX. They allow the company to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket or the two side boosters of its Falcon Heavy rocket.

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The facilities were built on land leased in February 2015 on the site of Launch Complex 13.[1][2] Landing Zone 1 saw its first use on 21 December 2015 when B1019 touched down during Falcon 9 flight 20. Landing Zone 2 was added ahead of the first Falcon Heavy test flight on 6 February 2018. During a Falcon Heavy launch, both LZs are used, allowing the two side boosters to land simultaneously.

On August 1, 2025, Landing Zone 1 supported its final landing during the SpaceX Crew-11 mission ahead of being reactivated as Space Launch Complex 13. Landing Zone 2 will continue to be used for Falcon 9 recoveries whilst SpaceX constructs replacement landing zones adjacent to Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 40.

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Landing Zones 1 and 2 are located at the location of Launch Complex 13, which has been demolished and replaced by two circular landing pads 282 feet (86 m) in diameter and marked with a stylized X from the SpaceX company logo.[3][4] Four more 150 feet (46 m) diameter pads were initially planned to be built to support the simultaneous recovery of additional boosters used by the Falcon Heavy, although only one extra pad has been built. Planned infrastructure additions to support operations includes improved roadways for crane movement, a rocket pedestal area, remote-controlled fire suppression systems in case of a landing failure, and a large concrete foundation, away from the future three landing pads, for attaching the booster stage when taking the rocket from vertical to horizontal orientation.[4]

Operations at the facility began after seven earlier landing tests by SpaceX, five of which involved intentional descents into the open ocean, followed by two failed landing tests on an ocean-going platform.[5][6] As of March 2, 2015, the Air Force's sign for LC-13 was briefly replaced with a sign identifying it as Landing Complex.[7] The site was renamed Landing Zone prior to its first use as a landing site.[8][9] Elon Musk indicated in January 2016 that he thought the likelihood of successful landings for all of the attempted landings in 2016 would be approximately 70 percent, hopefully rising to 90 percent in 2017, and cautioned that the company expects a few more failures.[10]

In July 2016, SpaceX applied for permission to build two additional landing pads at Landing Zone 1 for landing the boosters from Falcon Heavy flights.[11]

In May 2017, construction began on a second, smaller landing pad known as Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2). Located approximately 1,017 feet (310 m) northwest of the original pad, LZ-2 is primarily used for landing side boosters of Falcon Heavy missions. By June 2017, the pad was enhanced with radar-reflective paint to improve landing precision.[12][13]

As of August 2025, Falcon 9 boosters typically land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) and only occasionally use LZ-2. One such exception occurred on December 11, 2022, during the Hakuto-R Mission 1, when booster B1073-5 landed on LZ-2. At the time, LZ-1 was occupied by booster B1069-4 from the OneWeb Flight #15 mission, launched on December 8, 2022. This marked the first time a Falcon 9 booster landed on LZ-2.

During a press conference ahead of the Crew-11 mission, William Gerstenmaier announced that the landing of booster B1094 would mark the final use of Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). SpaceX's lease on the Launch Complex 13 site expired at the end of July 2025 and transitioned to joint use by Vaya Space and Phantom Space. As of August 2025, SpaceX is working to construct new landing zones co-located at its LC-39A and SLC-40 launch facilities. LZ-2 will continue to temporarily support landings until those new pads are operational.[14][15]

LC-13 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, is being transitioned to a joint use by Vaya Space and Phantom Space, while SpaceX will make new landing pads within LC‑39A and SLC‑40 launch complexes.[16]

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Landing history

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LZ-1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
2015
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
  •   Falcon 9 Success
  •   Falcon Heavy Success
  •   Falcon 9 Failure
  •   Falcon Heavy Failure

LZ-2

1
2
3
4
2015
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
  •   Falcon 9 Success
  •   Falcon Heavy Success
  •   Falcon 9 Failure
  •   Falcon Heavy Failure

Booster landings

25
50
75
100
125
150
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
  •   Ground-pad failure
  •   Drone-ship failure
  •   Ocean test failure[a]
  •   Parachute test failure[b]
  •   Ground-pad success
  •   Drone-ship success
  •   Ocean test success[c]
  •   No attempt

    Detailed history

    For landings at sea, see Autonomous spaceport drone ship

    Launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center
    Thumb
    About OpenStreetMaps
    Maps: terms of use
    4km
    2.5miles
    28
    28 LC-29
    28 LC-29
    27
    27 LC-25
    27 LC-25
    26
    26 LC-30
    26 LC-30
    25
    25 LC-5 and LC-6
    25 LC-5 and LC-6
    24
    24 LC-26
    24 LC-26
    23
    23 SLC-17
    23 SLC-17
    22
    22 LC-18
    22 LC-18
    21
    21 LC-31 and LC-32
    21 LC-31 and LC-32
    20
    20 LC-21 and LC-22
    20 LC-21 and LC-22
    19
    19 SLC-46
    19 SLC-46
    18
    18 LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4
    18 LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4
    17
    17 LC-36
    17 LC-36
    16
    16 LC-11
    16 LC-11
    15
    15 LC-12
    15 LC-12
    14
    14 LC-13 (LZ-2)
    14 LC-13 (LZ-2)
    13
    13 LC-14
    13 LC-14
    12
    12 LC-15
    12 LC-15
    11
    11 LC-16
    11 LC-16
    10
    10 LC-19
    10 LC-19
    9
    9 SLC-20
    9 SLC-20
    8
    8 LC-34
    8 LC-34
    7
    7 SLC-37
    7 SLC-37
    6
    6 LC-47
    6 LC-47
    5
    5 SLC-40
    5 SLC-40
    4
    4 SLC-41
    4 SLC-41
    3
    3 LC-48
    3 LC-48
    2
    2 LC-39A
    2 LC-39A
    1
    1 LC-39B
    1 LC-39B

      Active pads
      Active pads not used for launches
      Inactive leased pads
      Inactive unleased pads
    1
    LC-39B
    2
    LC-39A
    3
    LC-48
    4
    SLC-41
    5
    SLC-40
    6
    LC-47
    7
    SLC-37
    8
    LC-34
    9
    SLC-20
    10
    LC-19
    11
    LC-16
    12
    LC-15
    13
    LC-14
    14
    LC-13 (LZ-2)
    15
    LC-12
    16
    LC-11
    17
    LC-36
    18
    LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4
    19
    SLC-46
    20
    LC-21 and LC-22
    21
    LC-31 and LC-32
    22
    LC-18
    23
    SLC-17
    24
    LC-26
    25
    LC-5 and LC-6
    26
    LC-30
    27
    LC-25
    28
    LC-29

    After approval from the FAA, SpaceX accomplished its first successful landing at the complex with Falcon 9 flight 20 on December 22, 2015 UTC;[17] this was the 8th controlled-descent test of a Falcon 9 first stage.[9][18] A second successful landing at LZ-1 took place shortly after midnight, local time (EDT) on July 18, 2016, as part of the CRS-9 mission, which was the Falcon 9's 27th flight.[19] The third successful landing was by the CRS-10 mission's first stage on February 19, 2017, which was the Falcon 9's 30th flight.[20] Landing Zone 2 was first used by the maiden launch of Falcon Heavy on February 6, 2018, when the rocket's two side boosters touched down on LZ-1 and LZ-2.[21] Later on, SpaceX will retire these two landing zones and add three landing zones for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets to conduct to "Return-to-launch-site" landings, two at LC-39A and one at SLC-40.[22] The last landing on LZ-1 occurred on 1 August 2025.[23]

    • Thumb
      A person standing in the middle of the main landing pad demonstrates its size.
    • Thumb
      Sign at entrance to Landing Zone 1 site
    • Thumb
      Launch and landing traces of Falcon 9 Flight 20, from launch pad SLC-40 to landing pad LZ-1
    • Thumb
      First stage of Falcon 9 Flight 20 on the pad shortly after landing
    • Thumb
      Recovery operations after Falcon 9 Flight 20 landing
    • Thumb
      Double return of Falcon Heavy test flight boosters
    More information Date (UTC), Mission ...
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    See also

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landing Zone 1.
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landing Zone 2.

    Notes

    1. Controlled descent; ocean touchdown control failed; no recovery
    2. Passive reentry failed before parachute deployment
    3. Controlled descent; soft vertical ocean touchdown; no recovery

    References

    External links

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