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| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | ||||||||||
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| Location | 28°31′19″N80°33′41″W / 28.52194°N 80.56139°W /28.52194; -80.56139 | ||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) | ||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) | ||||||||||
| Short name | LC-34 | ||||||||||
| Operator | United States Space Force | ||||||||||
| Total launches | 7 | ||||||||||
| Launch pad | 1 | ||||||||||
| Orbital inclination range | 28° - 57° | ||||||||||
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Launch Complex 34 (LC-34) is a deactivated launch site onCape Canaveral Space Force Station,Florida. LC-34 and its companionLC-37 to the north were used byNASA from 1961 through 1968 to launchSaturn I andIBrockets as part of theApollo program. It was the site of theApollo 1 fire, which claimed the lives ofastronautsGus Grissom,Ed White, andRoger Chaffee on January 27, 1967. The first crewed Apollo launch —Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968 — was the most recent time LC-34 was used.
Work began on LC-34 in 1960, and it was formally dedicated on June 5, 1961. The complex consisted of a launch platform, umbilical tower, mobile service tower, fueling facilities, and ablockhouse. Two steel flame deflectors were mounted on rails to allow placement beneath the launch platform. Theservice tower was likewise mounted on rails, and it was moved to a position 185 meters west of the pad before launch. At 95 meters high, it was the tallest structure at LC-34.
The blockhouse, located 320 meters from the pad, was modeled after the domed reinforced concrete structure atLC-20. During a launch, it could accommodate 130 people as well as test and instrumentation equipment. Periscopes afforded views outside the windowless facility.
LC-34 saw its first launch on October 27, 1961. The firstSaturn I, Block I, missionSA-1, lofted a dummyupper stage on asuborbital trajectory into the Atlantic. The subsequent three Saturn I launches took place at LC-34, ending withSA-4 on March 28, 1963. The six ensuing Saturn I, Block II launches were conducted atLC-37.
LC-34 was extensively modified to supportSaturn IB launches, which began in February 1966. New anchor points were built to fasten the service structure in place during high winds. Access arms on the umbilical tower were rebuilt to match the larger rocket. At the 67-meter level, the swing arm was outfitted with awhite room to permit access to the command module at the top of a rocket.
Two Saturn IBs (AS-201 andAS-202) were successfully launched from LC-34 before the Apollo 1 fire brought Apollo activities at the spaceport to an abrupt halt. After the fire, extinguishing equipment was installed at the top of the umbilical tower, and aslide wire was set up to provide astronauts a quick escape in the event of an emergency.
The first crewed Apollo launch—Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968—was the most recent time LC-34 was used. NASA considered reactivating both LC-34 andLaunch Complex 37 for theApollo Applications Program, but insteadLC-39B was modified to launch Saturn IBs.
After the decommissioning of LC-34, the umbilical tower and service structure were razed, leaving only the launch platform standing at the center of the pad, as well as the two flame deflectors and the blockhouse. The original spherical Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank also stood at the pad until 2008, when it was purchased bySpaceX and relocated toSpace Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) for use inFalcon 9 flights.
Currently, LC-34 is not tenanted by anybody and is primarily used as a memorial for Apollo 1. However, theUnited States Space Force has entertained leasing the pad to a commercial customer on account of its relatively large size and Cape Canaveral's limited real estate.[1] Additionally, any precedent of a memorialized launch site refraining from getting a tenant was broken in 2023, when the Space Force awarded the lease forLaunch Complex 14 (which has been similarly used to honor theMercury Seven) toStoke Space for use inNova flights.[2]
Following Apollo 7's flight, the remaining parts of LC-34 like the launch platform serve as a memorial to the crew of Apollo 1. A dedicatory plaque affixed to the structure bears the inscription:
LAUNCH COMPLEX 34
Friday, 27 January 1967
1831 Hours
Dedicated to the living memory of the crew of the Apollo 1
U.S.A.F. Lt. Colonel Virgil I. Grissom
U.S.A.F. Lt. Colonel Edward H. White, II
U.S.N. Lt. Commander Roger B. Chaffee
They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of humankind's final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.
Another plaque (which was shown in the filmArmageddon)[3] reads:
IN MEMORY
OF
THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
SO OTHERS COULD REACH THE STARS
AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
(A ROUGH ROAD LEADS TO THE STARS)
GOD SPEED TO THE CREW
OF
APOLLO 1
All flights operated byNASA.
| No. | Date | Time (GMT) | Launch vehicle | Serial number | Mission | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 October 1961 | 15:06 | Saturn I | SA-1 | SA-1 | Success | Suborbital launch. Maiden flight of the Saturn I and the Saturn family, and first launch from LC-34. Only theS-I was a live stage, with the rest beingboilerplates. |
| 2 | 25 April 1962 | 14:00 | Saturn I | SA-2 | SA-2 | Success | Suborbital launch. Boilerplate upper stages detonated after completion of mission as part ofProject Highwater, done to test effects of water at high altitudes on communications. |
| 3 | 16 November 1962 | 17:45 | Saturn I | SA-3 | SA-3 | Success | Suborbital launch. Boilerplate upper stages detonated after completion of mission as part ofProject Highwater, done to test effects of water at high altitudes on communications. |
| 4 | 28 March 1963 | 20:11 | Saturn I | SA-4 | SA-4 | Success | Suborbital launch. Final Saturn I launch to use a boilerplate second stage. |
| 5 | 26 February 1966 | 15:06 | Saturn IB | SA-201 | AS-201 | Success | Suborbital launch. Maiden flight of the Saturn IB and of an operationalApollo CSM. Also occasionally known as Apollo 1-A. |
| 6 | 25 August 1966 | 17:15 | Saturn IB | SA-202 | AS-202 | Success | Suborbital launch. Also occasionally known as Apollo 2. |
| - | Planned for 21 February 1967 | Cancelled | Saturn IB | SA-204 | Apollo 1 | Precluded | Intended to be the first crewed flight of theApollo Program. Flight precluded a month before launch on January 27, when a fire broke out in the CSM during an on-pad test, killing astronautsGus Grissom,Ed White, andRoger Chaffee. Planned rocket would be later used forApollo 5. |
| 7 | 11 October 1968 | 15:02 | Saturn IB | SA-205 | Apollo 7 | Success | Test of Apollo CSM for length of planned lunar journey. First crewed Apollo flight, and first crewed American spaceflight following theApollo 1 fire. Last crewed launch fromCape Canaveral Station untilBoeing CFT in 2024. First orbital launch from LC-34, and most recent launch from LC-34. |
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