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

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 Force’s 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 world’s first propulsive landing of an orbital-class booster, marking SpaceX’s 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 missions—though 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 sparse—the last news post on Phantom Space’s website is over a year old, and Vaya Space’s activity appears similarly stagnant.

Phantom Space is developing its 20-meter-tall Daytona rocket, named for founder Jim Cantrell’s 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 Lab’s 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 Force’s decision not to renew SpaceX’s 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 world’s busiest pad—would 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.

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