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. Apollo 5 on pad

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

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

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