Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 31
Encyclopedia
Launch Complex 31 is a former launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
, Florida
.
It was built in 1959 with LC-32
for the U.S. Air Force to conduct test launches of the first LGM-30 Minuteman
missiles. LC-31 was built next to Navaho
complex LC-9, requiring LC-10
to be demolished. These complexes were the first to feature dual launch pads, one of which was subterranean. LC 31 consisted of a blockhouse, static launch pad (31A) and missile silo (31B). The bee-hive-shaped blockhouse is 210 yards from the static pad and 330 yards from the silo.
The Air Force launched four Minuteman missiles from 31A; and 35 from the silo, 31B, between February 1, 1960 and September 23, 1969. Pad 31A was used later by the U.S. Army to test launch ten MGM-31 Pershing missiles.
The service tower has since been removed and silo filled in, although recovered debris from the space shuttle orbiter Challenger
were buried in the silo.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
It was built in 1959 with LC-32
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 32
Launch Complex 32 is a former launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.It was built in 1959 with LC-31 for the U.S. Air Force to comduct test launches of the first LGM-30 Minuteman missiles. These complexes were the first to feature dual launch pads, one of which was subterranean...
for the U.S. Air Force to conduct test launches of the first LGM-30 Minuteman
LGM-30 Minuteman
The LGM-30 Minuteman is a U.S. nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile . As of 2010, the version LGM-30G Minuteman-III is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States...
missiles. LC-31 was built next to Navaho
SM-64 Navaho
The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles...
complex LC-9, requiring LC-10
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 10
Launch Complex 10 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida was a launch pad used by SM-64 Navaho missiles, and later Jason and Draco sounding rockets. It was located north of Launch Complex 17, where Launch Complexes 31 and 32 are now located...
to be demolished. These complexes were the first to feature dual launch pads, one of which was subterranean. LC 31 consisted of a blockhouse, static launch pad (31A) and missile silo (31B). The bee-hive-shaped blockhouse is 210 yards from the static pad and 330 yards from the silo.
The Air Force launched four Minuteman missiles from 31A; and 35 from the silo, 31B, between February 1, 1960 and September 23, 1969. Pad 31A was used later by the U.S. Army to test launch ten MGM-31 Pershing missiles.
The service tower has since been removed and silo filled in, although recovered debris from the space shuttle orbiter Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
were buried in the silo.