Landing Zones 1 and 2

Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, also known as LZ-1 and LZ-2 respectively, were former landing facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station used by SpaceX. They allowed the company to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket or the two side boosters of its Falcon Heavy rocket. The facilities were built on land leased in February 2015 on the site of Launch Complex 13. 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 continued to be used for Falcon 9 recoveries until its last landing for NROL-77 mission on December 9, 2025. SpaceX is constructing replacement landing zones adjacent to Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 40. Site Landing Zones 1 and 2 are located at the location of the former 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. 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. 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. As of March 2, 2015, the Air Force's sign for LC-13 was briefly replaced with a sign identifying it as Landing Complex. The site was renamed Landing Zone prior to its first use as a landing site. 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. 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. 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. 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. Landing Zone 2 continued to be used for Falcon 9 recoveries until its last landing for NROL-77 mission on December 9, 2025. 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. Landing history Booster landings Detailed history For landings at sea, see Autonomous spaceport drone ship After approval from the FAA, SpaceX accomplished its first successful landing at the complex with Falcon 9 flight 20 on December 22, 2015 UTC; this was the 8th controlled-descent test of a Falcon 9 first stage. 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. 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. 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. 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. The last landing on LZ-1 occurred on 1 August 2025. See also SpaceX reusable launch system development program Autonomous spaceport drone ship, used to recover first stage boosters at sea Notes References External links Computer animation of planned launch and landing of Falcon Heavy boosters (SpaceX)