Launch Complex 22 (LC-22) at
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 station ...
, Florida, United States, is a launch complex that was used for horizontal launches of
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
s between 1957 and 1960. It consisted of two launch rails, from which
XSM-73 Bull Goose and
MGM-13 Mace
The Martin Mace was a ground-launched cruise missile developed from the earlier Martin TM-61 Matador. It used a new self-contained navigation system that eliminated the need to get updates from ground-based radio stations, and thereby allowed i ...
missiles were tested. Unlike the other Mace launch site,
Launch Complex 21, no concrete structure was built to enclose the launch rails when it was converted to launch the Mace in 1959. This earned the pad the nickname of "the softsite".
History
Construction of LC-22 started in 1956, leading to acceptance into military service on 26 February 1957, with Launch Complex 21. The first test of a Bull Goose rocket from LC-22 occurred on 13 March 1957, and the last occurred on 28 November 1958.
Following the end of Bull Goose test flights, Complex 22 was renovated for the Mace missile. The first Mace launch from LC-22 occurred on 29 October 1959, with final launch from the complex occurring on 24 June 1960.
After the last launch, the complex was retained as a backup site until the 1970s, in case a future missile needed to use it. As of 2009, the blockhouse, and many of the support structures erected at the pad, were still standing.
References
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{{Merritt Island
Launch Complex 22