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 Atlas D with FIRE 1 at LC-12 | |||||||||||
 Interactive map of Launch Complex 12 | |||||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 28°28′49″N80°32′31″W / 28.48028°N 80.54194°W /28.48028; -80.54194 | ||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) | ||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) | ||||||||||
| Short name | LC-12 | ||||||||||
| Operator | United States Space Force (owner) Blue Origin (tenant) | ||||||||||
| Total launches | 39 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Launch Complex 12 (LC-12) atCape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida was a launch pad used byAtlas rockets andmissiles between 1958 and 1967. It was the second-most southern of the pads known asMissile Row, between LC-11 to the south and LC-13 to the north. Along with Complexes11,13 and14, 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 reinforcedblockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by means of a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.
Currently, LC-12 is leased byBlue Origin, and has been used by them as a storage site.[1][2]
Atlas A,C andD missiles were tested from the site. It was also used fororbital launches ofAtlas-Able and laterAtlas-Agena rockets, and twoProject FIRE suborbital tests forProject 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 aturbopump 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 launchedRanger 4, the firstAmerican spacecraft to reach the surface of theMoon, when it made ahard 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 launchedRanger 7, which was the first fully successfulRanger mission. On 28 November 1964, Atlas-Agena D 288D launched withMariner 4, which provided the first close-up pictures ofMars.
In 1967, LC-12 became the third of the four Atlas pads to be deactivated. Following deactivation, thelaunch tower,mobile service structure and launch support equipment were dismantled, and the site is no longer maintained for launches.
Following their leasing of the nearbyLaunch Complex 36 in 2015, Blue Origin looked to leasing other pads in the area as real estate to support the operation of theirNew Glenn launch vehicle from there. As the adjacentLC-11 had already been leased to them in 2017 as a test site for theirBE-4 engine, the company also leased LC-12 the following year.[2][3] Based onaerial imagery, the complex as of 2023 has been used to store test articles for New Glenn and it'sClipper upper stage, as well as several hold-down points.
All launches before January 1961 operated by theUnited States Air Force. All launches since operated byNASA.
| No. | Date | Time (UTC) | Launch vehicle | Configuration | Payload | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 January 1958 | 15:48 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas A | Suborbital test | Success | First launch form LC-12. |
| 2 | 20 February 1958 | 17:46 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas A | Suborbital test | Failure | Vernier engine transducer failed, leading to missile tumbling and self-destructing 164 second after launch. |
| 3 | 3 June 1958 | 21:28 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas A | Suborbital test | Success | Final flight of the Atlas A. |
| 4 | 24 December 1958 | 04:45 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Success | Maiden flight of the Atlas C. |
| 5 | 27 January 1959 | 23:34 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Partial failure | Missile suffered guidance control failure 80 seconds after launch, however was kept on course by flight control system. |
| 6 | 20 February 1959 | 05:38 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Failure | Staging mishap with valve led to loss of tank pressure in missile, leading to self-destruction 172 seconds after launch. |
| 7 | 19 March 1959 | 00:59 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Failure | Electrical issues caused premature sustainer engine shutdown, leading to unstable flight trajectory. |
| 8 | 21 July 1959 | 05:22 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 9 | 24 August 1959 | 15:53 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas C | Suborbital test | Success | Final flight of the Atlas C. Reentry capsule on board captured photographs of Earth from space. |
| - | Planned for October 1959 | Cancelled | Atlas-Able | Atlas C / Able | Pioneer P-1 | Precluded | Part of thePioneer program, aiming to explore theMoon. Planned first flight of the Atlas-Able. Vehicle destroyed during astatic fire test on 24 September. |
| 10 | 20 May 1960 | 15:00 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 11 | 28 June 1960 | 02:30 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 12 | 9 August 1960 | 18:09 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 13 | 12 August 1960 | 13:00 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 14 | 25 September 1960 | 15:13 | Atlas-Able | Atlas D / Able | Pioneer P-30 | Failure | Part of thePioneer program, aiming to explore theMoon. First Atlas-Able launch from LC-12, and first orbital and civilian launch from the pad. Second stage suffered from propellant feed malfunction, resulting in failure to reach orbit. |
| 15 | 22 October 1960 | 09:34 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 16 | 15 November 1960 | 05:54 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 17 | 15 December 1960 | 09:10 | Atlas-Able | Atlas D / Able | Pioneer P-31 | Failure | Part of thePioneer program, aiming to explore theMoon. Final Atlas-Able flight. Issue in interstage resulted inLOX tank rupture, leading to self-destruction of vehicle 73 seconds after launch. |
| 18 | 23 January 1961 | 21:02 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | Suborbital test | Success | |
| 19 | 23 August 1961 | 10:04 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 1 | Failure | First mission of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. Demonstration mission going toHEO. First Atlas-Agena launch from LC-12. Vehicle stranded inlow Earth orbit following failure of Agena relight. |
| 20 | 18 November 1961 | 08:12 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 2 | Failure | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. Demonstration mission going toHEO. Vehicle stranded inlow Earth orbit following failure of Agena relight. |
| 21 | 26 January 1962 | 20:30 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 3 | Partial failure | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. First mission planned to impact the Moon. Guidance failures in Atlas and Agena placed spacecraft on incorrect trajectory and headed intoheliocentric orbit. |
| 22 | 23 April 1962 | 20:50 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 4 | Success | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. Launch was a success, butsolar panels failed to deploy and impacted the lunar surface without gathering data. |
| 23 | 22 July 1962 | 09:21 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Mariner 1 | Failure | First mission of theMariner program, aiming to exploreVenus. First American mission to another planet. Issue with guidance system programing led to erroneous flight path causingrange safety protocols 294 seconds after launch. |
| 24 | 27 August 1962 | 06:53 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Mariner 2 | Success | Part of theMariner program, aiming to exploreVenus. First spacecraft to successfully visit another planet. Helped discover Venus's notablyhigh surface temperature and atmospheric pressure. |
| 25 | 18 October 1962 | 16:59 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 5 | Success | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. Launch was a success, but spacecraft malfunctioned en route and ended up inheliocentric orbit. |
| 26 | 30 January 1964 | 15:49 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 6 | Success | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. Launch was a success and spacecraft operated for length of mission, but camera systems failed to operate. |
| 27 | 14 April 1964 | 21:42 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | FIRE 1 | Success | Suborbital launch. Part of theApollo Program, a test flight experimenting with theheat shield to be used for theApollo CSM. |
| 28 | 28 July 1964 | 16:50 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 7 | Success | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. First completely successful Ranger mission. |
| 29 | 5 September 1964 | 01:23 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | OGO-1 | Success | First mission of theOrbiting Geophysical Observatory program, aimed at studyingEarth's magnetosphere. |
| 30 | 28 November 1964 | 14:22 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-D | Mariner 4 | Success | Part of theMariner program, aiming to exploreMars. First spacecraft to visit Mars, helping dispel beliefs such as the existence ofMartian canals. |
| 31 | 17 February 1965 | 17:05 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 8 | Success | Part of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. |
| 32 | 21 March 1965 | 21:37 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas LV-3 /Agena-B | Ranger 9 | Success | Last mission of theRanger program, designed to take close-up pictures of theMoon's surface. |
| 33 | 22 May 1965 | 13:34 | SM-65 Atlas | Atlas D | FIRE 2 | Success | Suborbital launch. Part of theApollo Program, a test flight experimenting with theheat shield to be used for theApollo CSM. |
| 34 | 8 April 1966 | 19:35 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-D | OAO-1 | Success | Part of theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory series ofspace telescopes. Launch was a success, but payload failed shortly after deploying. |
| 35 | 7 June 1966 | 02:48 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-B | OGO-3 | Success | Part of theOrbiting Geophysical Observatory program, aimed at studyingEarth's magnetosphere. |
| 36 | 7 December 1966 | 02:12 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-D | ATS-1 | Success | First launch of theApplications Technology Satellites program. |
| 37 | 6 April 1967 | 03:23 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-D | ATS-2 | Partial failure | Part of theApplications Technology Satellites program. Agena failed to reignite, leaving payload stuck inmedium Earth orbit. |
| 38 | 14 June 1967 | 06:01 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-D | Mariner 5 | Success | Part of theMariner program, aiming to exploreVenus and study its atmosphere and magnetic field. |
| 39 | 5 November 1967 | 23:37 | Atlas-Agena | Atlas SLV-3 /Agena-D | ATS-3 | Success | Part of theApplications Technology Satellites program. Final Atlas launch from LC-12. Most recent launch from LC-12. |