The launch of GOES-N atop a Delta IV, from SLC-37B in 2006 |
|
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
|---|---|
| Location | 28.531986°N 80.566821°W |
| Short name | SLC-37 |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Total launches | 25 |
| Launch pad(s) | 2 |
| Minimum / maximum orbital inclination |
28° - 57° |
| LC-37A launch history | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Launches | 0 |
| First launch | Unused |
| Associated rockets | Saturn I Saturn IB |
| SLC-37B launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launches | 25 |
| First launch | 29 January 1964 Saturn I / SA-5 |
| Last launch | 16 July 2011 Delta IV / USA-232 |
| Associated rockets | Saturn I Saturn IB Delta IV (current) |
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37[1][2] (SLC-37), previously Launch Complex 37 (LC-37), is a launch complex on Cape Canaveral, Florida. Construction began in 1959 and the site was accepted by NASA to support the Saturn I program in 1963.[3] The complex consists of two launch pads. LC-37A has never been used, but LC-37B launched unmanned Saturn I flights (1964 to 1965) and was modified and launched Saturn IB flights (1966 to 1968), including the first (unmanned) test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space.[3] It was deactivated in 1972. In 2001 it was modified as the launch site for Delta IV, a launch system operated by United Launch Alliance.
The first launch to utilize the complex was the SA-5 unmanned test of the Saturn I launch vehicle. It was closed in 1968, following the unmanned Apollo flight Apollo 5, but re-opened in 2002 as a Delta IV launch site, and is in active use for that launch system.
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 330 ft (100 m) tall.[4]
Contents |
All flights operated by NASA.
| Date | Launch vehicle | Payload | Mission/function | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 29, 1964 | Saturn I | none | SA-5 | First live S-IV second stage |
| May 28, 1964 | Saturn I | BP-13 boilerplate CSM | A-101 (SA-6) | First boilerplate CSM |
| Sept. 18, 1964 | Saturn I | BP-15 boilerplate CSM | A-102 (SA-7) | |
| Feb. 16, 1965 | Saturn I | Pegasus A and BP-16 boilerplate CSM | A-103 (SA-9) | Pegasus studied micrometeoroid impacts |
| May 25, 1965 | Saturn I | Pegasus B and BP-26 boilerplate CSM | A-104 (SA-8) | |
| July 30, 1965 | Saturn I | Pegasus C and BP-9A boilerplate CSM | A-105 (SA-10) | |
| July 5, 1966 | Saturn IB | none | AS-203 | Test of S-IVB; informally called Apollo 2 |
| Jan. 22, 1968 | Saturn IB | LM-1 | Apollo 5 | Test of the first lunar module |
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