Following the incorporation of the
Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation in 1991 by the Alaska state legislature, plans were begun for the spaceport, known during development as the
Alaska Orbital Launch Complex. Construction on the site began in January 1998, and the first launch took place in August 1998 from temporary accommodations at the site. After a launch failure in August 2014 damaged the launch tower, payload processing facility and integrated processing facility, During efforts to repair the facilities, the spaceport was formally renamed to "Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska" in an announcement made on 14 April 2015. The facility was formally re-dedicated on 13 August 2016, to celebrate the completion of repairs. In mid-2016, the Alaska Aerospace Corporation "signed a multi-year contract with the
Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for multiple launches from the PSCA through 2021". The arrangement includes a sole-source contract for two
flight tests of the
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Two
private companies,
Rocket Lab and
Vector Space Systems, were considering using the spaceport for commercial launches as early as 2019. On 19 November 2021, Astra's LV0007 rocket achieved orbit from the Pacific Spaceport Complex. == Launch facilities ==