Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37), previously Launch Complex 37 (LC-37), is a launch complex on
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
, Florida. Construction began in 1959 and the site was accepted by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
to support the
Saturn I
The Saturn I was a rocket designed as the United States' first medium lift launch vehicle for up to low Earth orbit payloads.Terminology has changed since the 1960s; back then, 20,000 pounds was considered "heavy lift". The rocket's first sta ...
program in 1963.
The complex consists of two launch pads. LC-37A has never been used, but LC-37B launched uncrewed Saturn I flights (1964 to 1965) and was modified and launched
Saturn IB flights (1966 to 1968), including the first (uncrewed) test of the
Apollo Lunar Module in space (
Apollo 5
Apollo 5 (launched January 22, 1968), also known as AS-204, was the uncrewed first flight of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) that would later carry astronauts to the surface of the Moon. The Saturn IB rocket bearing the LM lifted off from C ...
).
[ It was deactivated in 1972. In 2001 it was modified as the launch site for ]Delta IV
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, t ...
, a launch system operated by United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, ...
.
The original layout of the launch complex featured one Mobile Service Structure which could be used to service or mate a rocket on either LC-37A or 37B, but not on both simultaneously. The Delta IV Mobile Service Tower is tall, and fitted to service all Delta IV configurations, including the Delta IV Heavy
The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) is an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It is the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation, behind NASA's Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon H ...
.
Launch history
Rocket configuration
Saturn
All flights operated by NASA.
Delta
IN 1998, Boeing secured the right to use SLC-37 for launch of the Delta IV rocket family. Facility modifications were made to SLC-37B and te first launch occurred in 2002. The Delta IV Medium
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the ...
and Delta IV Heavy
The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) is an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It is the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation, behind NASA's Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon H ...
are launched from SLC-37.
Photos
File:LC-37.jpg, Map of Launch Complex 37 of the 1960s, with original Mobile Service Structure
File: Launch Complex 37.jpg, LC-37B in 2010, with current Mobile Service Tower
See also
*List of spaceflights by year
This is the timeline of known spaceflights, both crewed and uncrewed, sorted chronologically by launch date. Owing to its large size, the timeline is split into smaller articles, one for each year since 1951. There is a separate list for all ...
*List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
Cape Canaveral and adjacent Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast are home to the USA's Eastern Range, the most active rocket range and spaceport in the country. The Eastern Range hosts two groundside operators: the military Cape Canavera ...
* Project Apollo
* Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 34
References
External links
Boeing Delta IV website
{{Merritt Island
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch complexes of the United States Space Force
Apollo program
1964 establishments in Florida