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 Atlas-B withSCORE on LC-11 | |||||||||||
 Interactive map of Launch Complex 11 | |||||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 28°28′32″N80°32′26″W / 28.47556°N 80.54056°W /28.47556; -80.54056 | ||||||||||
| 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 | 1 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Launch Complex 11 (LC-11) atCape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, is a launch complex used byAtlas missiles between 1958 and 1964. It is the southernmost of the launch pads known asMissile Row. When it was built, it, along with complexes12,13 and14, 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 a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.
Thirty-twoAtlas B,D,E andF 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, oneorbital launch was conducted from the complex. On 18 December 1958, Atlas 10B launchedSCORE, the world's firstcommunications satellite, intolow Earth orbit.
The area of LC-11 is currently leased toBlue Origin.[1]
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.
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 has leased the site to redevelop it for their use.[2] On March 29, 2017, it was reported that Blue Origin has chosen LC-11 to conduct test firings of theBE-4 engine. LC-11 is located nearSpaceport Florida Launch Complex 36, which will support launches of Blue Origin'sNew Glenn Launch Vehicle, currently scheduled for a launch no-earlier then 2020.[3] Throughout 2017, aerial / satellite imagery from Planet Explorer showed that construction of a new facility was underway there.[4] Blue Origin renders showed a pair of test stands to be constructed, but in 2019 aerial photos showed no construction had occurred.[5]
All launches operated by theUnited 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 evercommunications satellite, transmitting a message recorded by PresidentDwight 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 | Rupturedliquid oxygen duct led to failure of onevernier 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 threemice. |
| 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 arhesus 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 fromCape Canaveral. Last flight from LC-11 prior toBlue Origin's incorporation of the pad intoLC-36. |
