Damage to the launch pad and ground equipment during a firing or test, an exposure distinct from the vehicle's and usually written separately.
A launch pad is an expensive and barely reproducible industrial structure, comprising the launch mount, flame trenches, cryogenic tanks, deluge and safety systems, whose reconstruction is measured in months or years and of which each site holds exactly one. The exposure is twofold. It is physical, since an explosion at lift-off or a degraded static fire damages the facility far beyond the vehicle itself, and it is operational, since an unavailable pad halts an operator's entire order book, including missions whose hardware is intact and ready. That second component, a business interruption on a unique asset, is what makes the exposure hard to transfer, because the launch policy covers payload and third-party liability but not the site operator's own property. Large operators therefore usually retain it or place it in a captive, for want of market capacity proportionate to a value concentrated on a single point, which makes it one of the few space assets whose principal insurer is its owner.
The first integrated flight test of the SpaceX Starship system, on 20 April 2023, severely damaged the Boca Chica launch mount and threw concrete debris several hundred meters, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration mishap investigation before any return to flight.
launch pad damage, dommages au pas de tir, range damage, installations sol