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Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 5

Coordinates: 28°26′22″N 80°34′24″W / 28.43944°N 80.57333°W / 28.43944; -80.57333
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Launch Complex 5
Mercury-Redstone 1 at LC-5 in 1960
Map
Launch siteCape Canaveral Space Force Station
Location28°26′22″N 80°34′24″W / 28.43944°N 80.57333°W / 28.43944; -80.57333
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)
UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Short nameLC-5
OperatorUnited States Space Force
Launch history
StatusDemolished
Launches23
First launch19 July 1956
Jupiter-A
Last launch21 July 1961
MRLV (Mercury-Redstone 4)
Associated
rockets		Jupiter-A
Jupiter-C
PGM-19 Jupiter
Juno I
PGM-11 Redstone
Juno II
Redstone MRLV
Launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
4km
2.5miles
28
28 LC-29
28 LC-29
27
27 LC-25
27 LC-25
26
26 LC-30
26 LC-30
25
25 LC-5 and LC-6
25 LC-5 and LC-6
24
24 LC-26
24 LC-26
23
23 SLC-17
23 SLC-17
22
22 LC-18
22 LC-18
21
21 LC-31 and LC-32
21 LC-31 and LC-32
20
20 LC-21 and LC-22
20 LC-21 and LC-22
19
19 SLC-46
19 SLC-46
18
18 LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4
18 LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, and LC-4
17
17 LC-36
17 LC-36
16
16 LC-11
16 LC-11
15
15 LC-12
15 LC-12
14
14 LC-13 (LZ-1 & LZ-2)
14 LC-13 (LZ-1 & LZ-2)
13
13 LC-14
13 LC-14
12
12 LC-15
12 LC-15
11
11 LC-16
11 LC-16
10
10 LC-19
10 LC-19
9
9 SLC-20
9 SLC-20
8
8 LC-34
8 LC-34
7
7 SLC-37
7 SLC-37
6
6 LC-47
6 LC-47
5
5 SLC-40
5 SLC-40
4
4 SLC-41
4 SLC-41
3
3 LC-48
3 LC-48
2
2 LC-39A
2 LC-39A
1
1 LC-39B
1 LC-39B

  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

Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 5 (LC-5) was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida used for various Redstone and Jupiter launches.

It is most well known as the launch site for NASA's 1961 suborbital Mercury-Redstone 3 flight, which made Alan Shepard the first American in space. It was also the launch site of Gus Grissom's July, 1961, Mercury-Redstone 4 flight. The Mercury-Redstone 1 pad abort, Mercury-Redstone 1A, and the January, 1961, Mercury-Redstone 2 with a chimpanzee, Ham, aboard, also used LC-5.

A total of 23 launches were conducted from LC-5: one Jupiter-A, six Jupiter IRBMs, one Jupiter-C, four Juno Is, four Juno IIs and seven Redstones. The first launch from the complex was a Jupiter-A on July 19, 1956 and the final launch was Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 capsule on July 21, 1961.[1]

LC-5 is located next to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum which is located at LC-26. The original launch consoles and computers are on display in the LC-5 blockhouse.[2][3] As of 2020, a tour of the museum can be arranged through the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's "Cape Canaveral: Early Space Tour". One tour is offered daily, so the number of visitors is limited by the size of the tour.

Launch statistics

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1
2
3
4
5
6
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961

All launches before October 1958 operated by the United States Army. All launches since operated by NASA.

No. Date Time (UTC) Launch vehicle Payload/mission Result Remarks
1 19 July 1956 08:45 Jupiter-A Suborbital test Success First launch from LC-5.
2 20 September 1956 06:45 Jupiter-C Suborbital test Success
3 1 March 1957 21:51 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Failure Maiden flight of the PGM-19 Jupiter. Heating in tail section led to vehicle breakup 7 seconds after launch.
4 26 April 1957 20:12 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Partial failure Propellant slosh led to vehicle breakup 93 seconds after launch. Flight considered a success.
5 31 May 1957 18:08 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Success First fully successful flight of the PGM-19 Jupiter and of a Western IRBM.
6 26 March 1958 17:38 Juno I Explorer 3 Success Part of the Explorer program, aiming to confirm findings studied by Explorer 1. First orbital launch and Juno I flight from LC-5.
7 17 May 1958 00:05 PGM-11 Redstone Suborbital test Success
8 26 July 1958 15:00 Juno I Explorer 4 Success Part of the Explorer program, aiming to study the Van Allen radiation belts and the magnetosphere.
9 24 August 1958 06:17 Juno I Explorer 5 Failure Part of the Explorer program, aiming to study the Van Allen radiation belts and the magnetosphere. Mishap during staging led to loss of control and failure to reach orbit.
10 23 October 1958 03:21 Juno I Beacon 1 Failure Part of Project Beacon, a balloon satellite designed to study atmospheric density. Upper stages separated prematurely, leading to failure to reach orbit. Last flight of the Juno I.
11 6 December 1958 05:44 Juno II Pioneer 3 Partial failure Part of the Pioneer program, aiming to study the Moon. Maiden flight of the Juno II. Circuit malfunction caused premature first stage cutoff, placing satellite on steep suborbital trajectory.
12 22 January 1959 00:10 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Success
13 3 March 1959 05:10 Juno II Pioneer 4 Success Part of the Pioneer program, aiming to study the Moon. Maiden flight of the Juno II. First successful American mission to the Moon, and first American satellite to enter heliocentric orbit.
14 14 May 1959 05:52 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Success
15 16 July 1959 17:37 Juno II Explorer S-1 Failure Part of the Explorer program, aiming to study cosmic rays such as Lyman-alpha x-rays. Shorted diode led to control failure immediately after liftoff, causing range safety protocols 5 seconds after launch.
16 27 August 1959 01:30 PGM-19 Jupiter Suborbital test Success
17 13 October 1959 15:30 Juno II Explorer 7 Success Part of the Explorer program, aiming to study cosmic rays such as Lyman-alpha x-rays. Reflight of Explorer S-1's objective. Final orbital launch from LC-5.
18 21 November 1960 14:00 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone 1 Failure Maiden flight of the MRLV, designed to perform an uncrewed suborbital flight for Project Mercury. Redstone engine shutdown immediately after launch, settling back onto the pad, becoming known as the "four-inch flight".
19 19 December 1960 16:15 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone 1A Success Reflight of MR-1. First successful flight of the MRLV, reusing the capsule used in MR-1.
20 31 January 1961 16:54 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone 2 Success Carried chimpanzee Ham into space as a live rehearsal for a crewed flight. Ham became the first great ape to be put in space.
21 24 March 1961 17:30 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone BD Success Test flight for the MRLV, carrying a boilerplate Mercury capsule. Developed by Wernher Von Braun to certify human rating.
22 5 May 1961 14:34 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone 3
(Freedom 7) 		Success First crewed orbital flight from the United States, first crewed launch of Project Mercury, and first crewed launch from LC-5. Carried astronaut Alan Shepard on a suborbital trajectory, becoming the first American and second person (after Yuri Gagarin) into space.
23 21 July 1961 12:20 Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Mercury-Redstone 4
(Liberty Bell 7) 		Success Second crewed American spaceflight, carrying astronaut Gus Grissom into space. Emergency hatch procedures accidentally fired, causing capsule to sink and Grissom to almost drown. Last American suborbital spaceflight from a rocket until Blue Origin NS-16 in 2021 and most recent crewed suborbital launch from Cape Canaveral. Final launch from LC-5 before conversion into the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
[edit]
  • Preparations on May 16, 1958 for the first PGM-11 Redstone launch on May 17 conducted by US Army troops
    Preparations on May 16, 1958 for the first PGM-11 Redstone launch on May 17 conducted by US Army troops
  • Launch of Liberty Bell 7 (MR-4)
    Launch of Liberty Bell 7 (MR-4)
  • Blockhouse (2010)
    Blockhouse (2010)
  • Firing button (2010)
    Firing button (2010)
  • LC-5 with display Redstone (2010)
    LC-5 with display Redstone (2010)
  • LC 5&6 blockhouse (now museum)
    LC 5&6 blockhouse (now museum)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cape Canaveral LC5". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  2. ^ "Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum". ccspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  3. ^ "Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum". ccspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
[edit]
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