physics

Landing Zones 1 and 2

Landing Zones 1 and 2 is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Landing Zones 1 and 2 rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Landing Zones 1 and 2 belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Landing Zones 1 and 2 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Landing Zones 1 and 2 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 continues to be used for Falcon 9 recoveries. 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.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Landing Zones 1 and 2

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Landing Zones 1 and 2 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Landing Zones 1 and 2 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Landing Zones 1 and 2 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Landing Zones 1 and 2

In research: Landing Zones 1 and 2 appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Landing Zones 1 and 2 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Landing Zones 1 and 2 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 2015, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SpaceX facilities, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Landing Zones 1 and 2 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Landing Zones 1 and 2 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Landing Zones 1 and 2 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Landing Zones 1 and 2 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Landing Zones 1 and 2 in simple terms?

Why does Landing Zones 1 and 2 matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Landing Zones 1 and 2?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Landing Zones 1 and 2.