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, 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 launches, and NASA launches. Missile Row and Cape Canaveral played a secondary role to Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in California for DoD launches, but it was used by many NASA launches of unmanned space probes, thanks to said spacecraft being typically launched on military vehicles.
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 orbital 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 swiftly retired by Relativity to instead develop 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.[5]
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
3miles
Active launch vehicles are in bold.
Active sites
Some of the launch complexes have been recommissioned for modern use by space vehicles, either from launches or other assorted actions.
| 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 | Undergoing renovation – Leased to Stoke Space | Future: Nova
Retired: Atlas, Mercury-Atlas, Atlas-Able, Atlas-Agena |
| Launch Complex 16 | Undergoing renovation – Leased to Relativity Space | Future: Terran R
Retired: Titan I, Titan II, Pershing 1a, Pershing II, Terran 1 |
| Space Launch Complex 20 | Inactive – Leased to Space Florida, subleased 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. |
References
- ^ a b Gruss, Mike (February 10, 2015). "SpaceX Leases Florida Launch Pad for Falcon Landings". Spacenews. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Berger, Eric (February 22, 2019). "Firefly planning a major rocket assembly and launch facility in Florida". Ars Technica.
- ^ a b c @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 (April 12, 2023). "Relativity goes 'all in' on larger reusable rocket, shifting 3D-printing approach after first launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Berger, Eric (November 15, 2024). "As ABL Space departs launch, the 1-ton rocket wars have a clear winner". Ars Technica. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
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