Missile Row

Missile Row was a nickname given to the US Air Force and NASA launch complexes at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in the 1960s. Operated by the 45th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force, it was the site of all pre-Apollo 8 manned launches, as well as many other early Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA launches. For the DoD, it plays a secondary role to Vandenberg AFB in California, but is the launch site for many NASA unmanned space probes, as those spacecraft are typically launched on Air Force launchers. Active launch vehicles are in bold.

Much of the support activity for CCAFS occurs at Patrick Air Force Base to the south, its reporting base.

Inactive sites

Site Status Uses
Launch Complex 1 Inactive Snark, Matador, Aerostat
Launch Complex 2 Inactive Snark, Matador, Aerostat
Launch Complex 3 Inactive Bumper-WAC, BOMARC, Polaris, X-17
Launch Complex 4 Inactive BOMARC, Redstone, Matador, Jason, Draco
Launch Complex 4A Inactive BOMARC
Launch Complex 5 Inactive Jupiter, Redstone, Mercury/Redstone.
The site of all six manned and unmanned Mercury/Redstone launches.
Launch Complex 6 Inactive Redstone, Jupiter
Launch Complex 9 Inactive Navaho
Launch Complex 10 Inactive Jason, Draco, Nike Tomahawk
Launch Complex 11 Inactive Atlas
Launch Complex 12 Inactive Atlas, Atlas Agena
Launch Complex 14 Inactive Atlas, Mercury/Atlas D, Atlas Agena


The site of all four manned Mercury/Atlas launches.

Launch Complex 15 Inactive Titan I, Titan II
Launch Complex 16 Inactive Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a
Launch Complex 17A Inactive Thor, Delta II
Launch Complex 17B Inactive Delta II, Delta III, Thor
Launch Complex 18 Inactive Viking, Vanguard, Thor, Blue Scout Junior, Blue Scout
Launch Complex 19 Inactive Titan I, Gemini/Titan II.
The site of all ten manned Gemini/Titan II launches.
Launch Complex 20 Inactive Titan I, Titan III, Starbird, Prospector, Aries, LCLV, Super Loki
Launch Complex 21 Inactive Goose, Mace
Launch Complex 22 Inactive Goose, Mace
Launch Complex 25 Inactive Polaris, X-17, Poseidon, Trident I
Launch Complex 26 Inactive Jupiter, Redstone
Launch site of Explorer 1 - the first successful U.S. satellite
Launch Complex 29 Inactive Polaris[1]
Launch Complex 30A Inactive Pershing 1
Launch Complex 31 Inactive Minuteman, Pershing 1a.
Used as a burial vault for the Space Shuttle Challenger
Launch Complex 32 Inactive Minuteman
Launch Complex 34 Inactive Saturn I, Saturn IB.
Site of Apollo 1 fire & Apollo 7 launch
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37 Inactive Saturn I, Saturn IB
Launch Complex 43 Demolished Super Loki

Active sites

Some of the launch complexes have been recommissioned for modern space vehicle launches.

Site Status Uses
Space Launch Complex 13 Active Current: SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stage landing site[2]
Formerly: Atlas, Atlas Agena
Space Launch Complex 40 Active Current: Falcon 9 cargo and satellite missions
Formerly: Titan III, Titan IV
Space Launch Complex 41 Active Current: Atlas V
Formerly: Titan III, Titan IV
Space Launch Complex 37B Active Current: Delta IV
Formerly: Saturn I, Saturn IB

Other

Site Status Uses
Atlantic Missile Range drop zone Inactive High Virgo, Bold Orion, Hound Dog, Skybolt
Grand Turk Island drop zone Inactive
Mobile Launch Area Inactive Lark, Matador, MX-775, Snark
SLBM Launch Area Inactive Polaris, Poseidon, Trident
Cape Canaveral AFS Skid Strip Active Navaho, Pegasus, Pegasus XL

References

  1. ↑ "Launch Complex 29". Air Force Space & Missile Museum. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  2. ↑ Gruss, Mike. "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved 13 February 2015.

External links

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