Missile Row

Last updated November 17, 2024

Missile Row was a nickname given in the 1960s to the eight SM-65 Atlas and HGM-25A Titan I launch complexes at the middle area of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), historically used by the United States Air Force and NASA. Operated by the 45th Space Wing since 1949, it was the site of all fourteen Mercury-Atlas and Gemini launches, as well as many other early missile tests, Department of Defense (DoD) launches, and NASA launches. For the DoD, it played a secondary role to Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in California, but was the launch site for many NASA unmanned space probes, as those spacecraft were typically launched on military launchers.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Missile Row gradually stopped being used thanks in part to the Atlas and Titan I's retirements as ICBMs in favor of the LGM-25C Titan II and LGM-30 Minuteman, both of which had their missile tests at Vandenberg. As for orbital launches, both the DoD and NASA moved away from the area in favor of Atlas-Centaur launches from the adjacent Launch Complex 36, Delta launches from Launch Complex 17 to the south, and Titan III launches from Launch Complexes 40 and 41 at the northern end of CCSFS. Additionally, NASA relocated all manned launches following LC-34's launch of Apollo 7 from Cape Canaveral to the nearby Kennedy Space Center, with every following launch of the Apollo Program, Apollo Applications Program, and Space Shuttle Program taking place at KSC's Launch Complexes 39A and 39B. Following the retirement of the Atlas-Agena in 1978, the only launches to come out of Missile Row were Pershing 1a and Pershing II tests by the United States Army from LC-16 in the 1980s and various sounding rockets from LC-20 in the 1990s. By 2001, none of the pads were in active use.

After this period without any launches, Missile Row began getting its pads reactivated in the wake of the 2010s NewSpace boom. This started with Launch Complex 13 getting leased to SpaceX in 2015 as a landing area for the Falcon 9's first stage,^[1] seeing first action with the landing of Orbcomm OG2's booster in December of that year. Following that, Launch Complexes 11 and 12 were leased to Blue Origin in 2017 as support to the operation of their New Glenn at the adjacent LC-36, with the pads being used for an engine test stand and storage area respectively. The region saw its first launch-oriented pad leases in 2019, with Firefly Aerospace getting LC-20 for the Firefly Alpha ^[2] and Relativity Space getting LC-16 for the Terran 1. More leases came in March 2023, when the historic Launch Complex 14 (famous for being the launch site of Friendship 7) was leased to Stoke Space for their Nova rocket, while LC-15 was given to ABL Space Systems for their RS1.^[3] Additionally, LC-13 was announced to be leased to Phantom Space and Vaya Space for their respective Daytona and Dauntless launch vehicles following the expiration of SpaceX's lease.^[3] The first launch in Missile Row since the 1970s occurred later that month with the only flight of the Terran 1, which after ending in failure was retired by Relativity in favor of developing the much larger Terran R.^[4] Following ABL's departure from the space launch market in November 2024, the only Missile Row pads not leased out are Launch Complex 15 and Launch Complex 19, the historic launch site of the Gemini missions.

Much of the support activity for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurs at Patrick Space Force Base to the south, its reporting base.

List of sites

Active launch vehicles are in bold.

Active sites

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

Site	Status	Uses
Launch Complex 11	Active – Used by Blue Origin	Current: BE-4 test stand area for New Glenn – Combined into Launch Complex 36 Retired: Atlas
Launch Complex 12	Active – Used by Blue Origin	Current: Storage area for New Glenn hardware Retired: Atlas, Atlas-Able, Atlas Agena
Launch Complex 13 (Landing Zone 1 and 2)	Active – Used by SpaceX To be used by Phantom Space and Vaya Space ^[3]	Current: Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stage landing site ^[1] Future: Daytona, Dauntless Retired: Atlas, Atlas Agena

Sites leased for future use

Some of the launch sites have been leased out to various NewSpace companies for future use.


Site	Status	Uses
Launch Complex 14	Inactive – Leased to Stoke Space	Future: Nova Retired: Atlas, Mercury-Atlas, Atlas-Able, Atlas-Agena The site of all four manned Atlas launches as part of Project Mercury.
Space Launch Complex 16	Undergoing renovation – Leased to Relativity Space	Future: Terran R Retired: Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a, Pershing II, Terran 1
Launch Complex 20	Inactive – Leased to Firefly Aerospace	Future: Firefly Alpha, MLV Retired: Titan I, Titan IIIA, Starbird, Prospector, Aries, LCLV, Super Loki

Inactive Sites

Site	Status	Uses
Launch Complex 15	Inactive	Retired: Titan I, Titan II Cancelled: RS1
Launch Complex 19	Inactive	Titan I, Titan II GLV The site of all ten manned launches part of Project Gemini.

Related Research Articles

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and operate facilities on each other's property.

Vandenberg Space Force Base, previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.

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.

Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built as the Apollo program's "Moonport" and later modified for the Space Shuttle program. Launch Complex 39 consists of three launch sub-complexes or "pads"—39A, 39B, and 39C—a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a Crawlerway used by crawler-transporters to carry mobile launcher platforms between the VAB and the pads, Orbiter Processing Facility buildings, a Launch Control Center which contains the firing rooms, a news facility famous for the iconic countdown clock seen in television coverage and photos, and various logistical and operational support buildings.

Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base that consists of two separate launch pads. SLC-3E (East) was used by the Atlas V launch vehicle before it was decommissioned in August 2021 with the final launch taking place on November 10, 2022 at 09:49, while SLC-3W (West) has been demolished.

Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41), previously Launch Complex 41 (LC-41), is an active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As of 2024, the site is used by United Launch Alliance (ULA) for Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur launches. Previously, it had been used by the United States Air Force for Titan IIIC, Titan IIIE, and Titan IV launches.

Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) is a launch complex located at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Historically, it served as a launch pad for Atlas rockets operated by NASA and the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 2005.

Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), sometimes referred to as "Slick Forty," is a launch pad located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Initially opened as Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) and used by the United States Air Force for 55 launches of rockets from the Titan family between 1965 and 2005. In 2007, SpaceX acquired a lease for SLC-40 and has since transformed the complex into a high-volume launch site for the Falcon 9 rocket. As of August 2024, the pad has hosted over 200 Falcon 9 launches.

Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) is an active rocket launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, USA. It consists of two launch pads: SLC-2E, used by the PGM-17 Thor and several of its derivatives from 1958 to 1972, and SLC-2W, which is currently used by the Firefly Alpha after historically being the west coast launch site of the Delta II.

Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) is a launch and landing site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, U.S. It has two pads, both of which are used by SpaceX for Falcon 9, one for launch operations, and the other as Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) for SpaceX landings.

Launch Complex 12 (LC-12) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida was a launch pad used by Atlas rockets and missiles between 1958 and 1967. It was the second-most southern of the pads known as Missile Row, between LC-11 to the south and LC-13 to the north. Along with Complexes 11, 13 and 14, LC-12 featured a more robust design than many contemporary pads, due to the greater power of the Atlas compared to other rockets of the time. It was larger, and featured a concrete launch pedestal that was 6 metres (20 ft) tall and a reinforced blockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by means of a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.

Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCAS), the third-most southerly of the original launch complexes known as Missile Row, lying between LC-12 and LC-14. In 2015, the LC-13 site was leased by SpaceX and was renovated for use as Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, the company's East Coast landing location for returning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicle booster stages. It is leased by US Space Force to Phantom Space and Vaya Space who will operate this launch complex after the termination of SpaceX's lease in future.

The Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46), previously Launch Complex 46 (LC-46), is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station operated under license by Space Florida previously used for Athena rocket launches. It has been used by Astra, which will continue the use with Rocket 4 and maybe 5 and will be used by ABL Space Systems for the near-term use by RS1.

Launch Complex 16 (LC-16) is a launch pad site located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. Part of the Missile Row lineup of launch pads, it was built for use by LGM-25 Titan missiles, and later used for NASA operations before being transferred back to the US military and used for tests of MGM-31 Pershing missiles. Six Titan I missiles were launched from the complex between December 1959 and May 1960. These were followed by seven Titan II missiles, starting with the type's maiden flight on March 16, 1962. The last Titan II launch from LC-16 was conducted on May 29, 1963.

The 6555th Aerospace Test Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Eastern Space and Missile Center and stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1990.

Relativity Space Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Long Beach, California. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles, and rocket engines for commercial orbital launch services. The company is notable for manufacturing most of their Terran 1 and Terran R rocket parts using 3D printing. As of April 2024, Terran R is on track for initial launch in 2026.

ABL Space Systems is an American aerospace and launch service provider, based in El Segundo, California, that manufactures deployable launch vehicles and infrastructure for missile defense, formerly for sending commercial small satellites into orbit. The company manufactures its components in the United States.

References

1 2 Gruss, Mike (10 February 2015). "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
↑ Berger, Eric (February 22, 2019). "Firefly planning a major rocket assembly and launch facility in Florida". Ars Technica.
1 2 3 @TGMetsFan98 (March 7, 2023). "The US Space Force and @SLDelta45 have newly allocated three launch pads to four companies: SLC-15 (former Titan pad) to ABL Space Systems; SLC-14 (former Atlas pad) to Stoke Space; SLC-13 to Phantom Space and Vaya Spac. Interestingly, SLC-13 is currently LZ-1 and 2" (Tweet). Retrieved March 28, 2023– via Twitter.
↑ Sheetz, Michael (12 April 2023). "Relativity goes 'all in' on larger reusable rocket, shifting 3D-printing approach after first launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-13.

External links

Encyclopedia Astronautica, Cape Canaveral entry

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[:0-1] 1 2 Gruss, Mike (10 February 2015). "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved 13 February 2015.

[ars20190219-2] Berger, Eric (February 22, 2019). "Firefly planning a major rocket assembly and launch facility in Florida". Ars Technica.

[newlease-3] 1 2 3 @TGMetsFan98 (March 7, 2023). "The US Space Force and @SLDelta45 have newly allocated three launch pads to four companies: SLC-15 (former Titan pad) to ABL Space Systems; SLC-14 (former Atlas pad) to Stoke Space; SLC-13 to Phantom Space and Vaya Spac. Interestingly, SLC-13 is currently LZ-1 and 2" (Tweet). Retrieved March 28, 2023– via Twitter.

[:22-4] Sheetz, Michael (12 April 2023). "Relativity goes 'all in' on larger reusable rocket, shifting 3D-printing approach after first launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-13.

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