Mobile launcher platform

A mobile launcher platform (MLP) is a structure used to support a large multistagespace vehicle. The vehicle is assembled vertically in an integration facility, such as the Vehicle Assembly Building, and then transported to a launch pad by a vehicle, like the crawler-transporter. At the pad, the platform serves as the structural and service interface for launch operations.

The use of a mobile launcher platform is associated with the Integrate-Transfer-Launch (ITL) approach, in which launch vehicles are assembled and transported to the pad vertically, and launched from the same structure. The concept was first implemented in the 1960s for the United States Air Force's Titan III rocket, and was later adopted by NASA for the Saturn V, Space Shuttle, and Space Launch System. Similar systems have also been used by other launch providers, including United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Alternative launch integration methods include the use of a transporter erector, in which a vehicle is assembled and transported horizontally before being raised to a vertical position at the launch pad. This approach is used by most Russian launch vehicles, including Soyuz, as well as by SpaceX for the Falcon 9 family and previously by ULA for the Delta IV family. Another method is vertical assembly directly on the launch pad, which has been used for some smaller launch vehicles, the Saturn I family, the SpaceX Starship, and was proposed for Space Shuttle launches from the West Coast.