Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 11

Launch Complex 11

Atlas-B with SCORE on LC-11
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Location	28°28′32″N 80°32′26″W
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Short name	LC-11
Operator	United States Space Force (owner) Blue Origin (tenant)
Total launches	31
Launch pad(s)	1
Launch history Status Active, test stand First launch 19 July 1958 Atlas B Last launch 1 April 1964 Atlas F Associated rockets Current: New Glenn (for BE-4 engine test stand) Retired: SM-65 Atlas

Launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center

4km
2.5miles

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

  Active pads

  Active pads not used for launches

  Inactive leased pads

  Inactive unleased pads

1

LC-39B

2

LC-39A

3

LC-48

4

SLC-41

5

SLC-40

6

LC-47

7

SLC-37

8

LC-34

9

SLC-20

10

LC-19

11

LC-16

12

LC-15

13

LC-14

14

LC-13 (LZ-1 & LZ-2)

15

LC-12

16

LC-11

17

LC-36

18

LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4

19

SLC-46

20

LC-21 and LC-22

21

LC-31 and LC-32

22

LC-18

23

SLC-17

24

LC-26

25

LC-5 and LC-6

26

LC-30

27

LC-25

28

LC-29

Launch Complex 11 (LC-11) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, is a launch complex used by Atlas missiles between 1958 and 1964. It is the southernmost of the launch pads known as Missile Row. When it was built, it, along with complexes 12, 13 and 14, 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 a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.

Thirty-two Atlas B, D, E and F missiles were launched on suborbital test flights from LC-11. The first launch to use the complex was Atlas 3B, the first flight of a complete Atlas, which was launched on 19 July 1958. In addition to the suborbital tests, one orbital launch was conducted from the complex. On 18 December 1958, Atlas 10B launched SCORE, the world's first communications satellite, into low Earth orbit.

The area of LC-11 is currently leased to Blue Origin.

History

Explosions

Two on-pad explosions occurred on LC-11. The first was Missile 48D in April 1960, which suffered combustion instability and exploded on the pad. Although no specific cause for the combustion instability could be determined, the separate duct for the booster turbine exhaust had been removed from the Atlas pads at CCAS earlier in the year since it was considered unnecessary and complicated ground testing of the missiles. The failure occurred slightly under a month after Missile 51D had exploded on LC-13 due to combustion instability, and after these back-to-back failures, it was decided to put the exhaust duct back on the pads. Although there was no evidence indicating that the lack of the exhaust ducts caused the failures, program officials decided to play it safe, and in any case wanted the pads to conform with Atlas D silo configurations.

The second explosion on LC-11 was when Missile 11F blew up one second after liftoff in April 9, 1962 due to a turbopump failure. In both causes, pad damage was relatively light and LC-11 restored to use in two months.

Later history

Following the end of Atlas testing at Cape Canaveral, LC-11 was the only one of the four Atlas pads to not be used for space launches, and hence was first of the four pads to be deactivated. Following deactivation, the mobile service tower and support equipment were dismantled, and the site was unmaintained for over 50 years.

Blue Origin use

Blue Origin has leased the site to redevelop it for their use. On March 29, 2017, it was reported that Blue Origin has chosen LC-11 to conduct test firings of the BE-4 engine. LC-11 is located near Spaceport Florida Launch Complex 36, which will support launches of Blue Origin's New Glenn Launch Vehicle, currently scheduled for a launch no-earlier then 2020. Throughout 2017, aerial / satellite imagery from Planet Explorer showed that construction of a new facility was underway there. Blue Origin renders showed a pair of test stands to be constructed, but in 2019 aerial photos showed no construction had occurred.

Launch statistics

1

2

3

4

5

6

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

All launches operated by the United States Air Force.

No.	Date	Time (UTC)	Launch vehicle	Configuration	Payload	Result	Remarks
1	19 July 1958	17:36	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas B	Suborbital test	Failure	Maiden flight of the Atlas B and first launch from LC-11. Gyro failure led to loss of control and self-destruction 43 seconds after launch.
2	29 August 1958	04:30	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas B	Suborbital test	Success
3	18 November 1958	04:00	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas B	Suborbital test	Partial failure	Mismatch in turbopumps led to excessive fuel consumption and premature sustainer engine cutoff, leading to shorter than expected trajectory.
4	18 December 1958	23:02	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas B	SCORE	Success	First ever communications satellite, transmitting a message recorded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from orbit. First orbital launch of an Atlas rocket, and only one so far from LC-11.
5	4 February 1959	08:01	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas B	Suborbital test	Success	Final flight of the Atlas B.
6	29 July 1959	04:10	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success
7	6 October 1959	05:55	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success
8	29 October 1959	07:20	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Partial failure	Ruptured liquid oxygen duct led to failure of one vernier engine, leading to loss of roll control and shorter than expected trajectory.
9	8 March 1960	13:10	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success
10	8 April 1960	13:10	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Failure	Combustion instability in booster engine led to missile exploding on pad.
11	11 June 1960	06:30	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success
12	2 July 1960	06:58	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Partial failure	Short in relay box caused decrease in performance, leading to shorter than expected trajectory.
13	17 September 1960	00:50	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success
14	13 October 1960	09:34	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas D	Suborbital test	Success	Carried biological nose cone, consisting of three mice.
15	13 May 1961	02:00	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas E	Suborbital test	Success
16	31 July 1961	21:32	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas E	Suborbital test	Success
17	2 October 1961	18:23	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas E	Suborbital test	Success
18	22 November 1961	21:04	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
19	12 December 1961	20:16	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Partial failure	Guidance system issue led to premature propulsion cutoff, leading to shorter than planned trajectory.
20	21 December 1961	03:35	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Failure	Carried biological nose cone with a rhesus monkey. Hydraulic system led to engine shutdown during staging. Nose cone successfully separated, but was failed to be recovered.
21	9 April 1962	20:50	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Failure	Liquid oxygen turbopump failure led to missile exploding 1 second after launch.
22	13 August 1962	22:00	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
23	19 September 1962	18:15	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
24	19 October 1962	18:15	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
25	7 November 1962	19:43	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
26	5 December 1962	21:25	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
27	1 March 1963	22:00	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
28	27 April 1963	02:03	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success
29	28 October 1963	21:00	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Failure	Hydraulic line ruptured during staging, leading to loss of control 140 seconds after launch.
30	25 February 1964	20:22	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas E	Suborbital test	Success
31	1 April 1964	20:22	SM-65 Atlas	Atlas F	Suborbital test	Success	Final suborbital Atlas test from Cape Canaveral. Last flight from LC-11 prior to Blue Origin's incorporation of the pad into LC-36.

References

• Encyclopedia Astronautica - LC11