Launch pad used by Atlas rockets and missiles
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.
Atlas A
,
C
and
D
missiles were tested from the site. It was also used for
orbital
launches of
Atlas-Able
and later
Atlas-Agena
rockets, and two
Project FIRE
suborbital tests for
Project Apollo
, using Atlas D rockets.
LC-12's first launch was Atlas 10A on January 10, 1958. During the second half of the year, a larger umbilical service tower was built in preparation for the C series Atlas tests, flown from December 1958 to August 1959.
On 24 September 1959, the first Atlas-Able, 9C, exploded during a static firing test at LC-12, after a
turbopump
on one of the engines failed to trigger a complete engine shutdown. The damaged turbopump continued to allow oxidizer to flow, feeding the fire beneath the vehicle. About a minute later the rocket suffered a structural failure, collapsed and exploded. The entire service tower and both umbilical towers were knocked over and the concrete launch stand caved in. Because damage to LC-12 was so extensive, it did not host another launch until Missile 56D in May 1960. The large service tower was not rebuilt following the explosion of Atlas 9C. It then hosted more ICBM tests along with the second and third Atlas Able probes.
In 1961, LC-12 was converted to support the Atlas-Agena rocket. The first Atlas-Agena launch from LC-12 was in August 1961. On 23 April 1962, Atlas-Agena B 133D launched
Ranger 4
, the first
American
spacecraft to reach the surface of the
Moon
, when it made a
hard landing
at an impact speed of 9,617 kilometres per hour (5,976 mph).
On 27 August 1962,
Mariner 2
was launched by Atlas-Agena B 179D, the first spacecraft conduct a successful flyby of another planet when it flew past Venus on 14 December 1962. On 28 July 1964, Atlas-Agena B 250D launched
Ranger 7
, which was the first fully successful
Ranger
mission. On 28 November 1964, Atlas-Agena D 288D launched with
Mariner 4
, which provided the first close-up pictures of
Mars
.
In 1967, LC-12 became the third of the four Atlas pads to be deactivated. Following deactivation, the
launch tower
,
mobile service structure
and launch support equipment were dismantled, and the site is no longer maintained.
References
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