A platform from which a rocket or spacecraft is launched into space; also used figuratively for a starting point or foundation for success.
Compound word from 'launch' (to send off forcefully) and 'pad' (a cushioned platform). The term became standard in the Space Age (1950s-1960s) as rocket programs developed.
The most famous launchpad is Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A, where the Apollo missions and Space Shuttles launched—the soil is literally scorched from thousands of rocket blasts! People now use 'launchpad' metaphorically for anything starting something big, from startups to careers.
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