Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-24-2011 03:07 PM
NASA photo KSC-64PC-0082 is a classic shot of Missile Row at Cape Canaveral as it looked back in 1964. You can even see the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) under construction in the background.
What would that same view look like now? Are any of those original launch towers still standing today?
hlbjr Member
Posts: 571 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
posted 10-24-2011 04:05 PM
No, none of the towers are left. The last ones standing were the two at Complex 36. They were demolished four years ago.
Complex 13 also outlasted all but Pad 36 and Pad 13 was also demolished (it's been six or seven years ago).
What's weird is some of the pads have been removed completely with all traces of the ground concrete pad, skimming (runoff) pond etc removed. I think it may have been a pollution issue.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
Posts: 3811 From: Midwest, USA Registered: Jul 2005
posted 10-24-2011 05:32 PM
While Pad 19's umbilical tower is gone, the erector tower is still there, lying in the down position. The white room has been removed and is now on display at the nearby Air Force Space and Missile Museum.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-24-2011 09:17 PM
Is there any type of monument or plaque at Pad 19 to acknowledge the 10 manned Gemini flights?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52160 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-25-2011 03:49 AM
Credit: Geoff Franz via Flickr
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3799 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 10-25-2011 05:17 AM
quote:Originally posted by LM-12: NASA photo KSC-64PC-0082 is a classic shot of Missile Row at Cape Canaveral as it looked back in 1964.
Indeed, always a favorite photo of mine of "ICBM Missile Row," and also known as "Heavy Launch Row" as they appeared during the mid-1960s.
The Air Force aerial view of the "old Cape Kennedy" depicts a golden era of our nation's missile, rocket and space exploration developments.
You can even see the old Titan III launch pad areas, at far north near the coastline, along with the large Titan ITL assembly and checkout facilities located on man-made islands in the Banana River (at top left in the picture).
Those were the days, huh?
Ironman One Member
Posts: 73 From: Ormond Beach, FL USA Registered: Sep 2011
posted 10-26-2011 07:34 AM
The blockhouse at launch complex 12 was demolished last year along with the Mercury Mission Control Center.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-26-2011 08:10 AM
Is the Mercury Mission Control Center visible in the 1964 photo?
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-26-2011 09:51 AM
quote:Originally posted by Ken Havekotte: Those were the days, huh?
They certainly were Ken. I like the 1964 Missile Row photo because it shows the launch pads back when Cape Canaveral was a bee-hive of activity.
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3799 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 10-26-2011 10:46 AM
quote:Originally posted by LM-12: Is the Mercury Mission Control Center visible in the 1964 photo?
No, the old Mercury Mission Control Center, no longer there, isn't visible in the missile row aerial view.
It's not too far, just south-west, of the Cape's Central Control Road that you can see heading into the Complex 36B area.
spacecraft films Member
Posts: 802 From: Columbus, OH USA Registered: Jun 2002
posted 10-26-2011 11:15 AM
I have been working recently on getting the Cape set complete, and we did a shoot at the Cape last year to show the condition at present. I posted some photos from the HD footage we shot at the Cape. We actually could no longer get close to Pad 19, there is some sort of environmental project going on there and the ground around the pad is all torn up and it is blocked off.
By the way (I know I'll be asked) 2 of the 3 Cape masters are now complete, and the last will be done in December. Almost there. Looking toward a December release.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-26-2011 11:23 AM
Thanks for all the comments and photos so far. I had never seen that Pad 19 Gemini billboard before.
mjanovec Member
Posts: 3811 From: Midwest, USA Registered: Jul 2005
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 10-26-2011 03:29 PM
The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Virtual Tour has details and photos from several CCAFS launch pads and launch facilities. Check out the Maps section.
It appears that the website was last updated in 2008.
astro-nut Member
Posts: 1043 From: Washington, IL Registered: Jan 2006
posted 10-30-2011 05:22 PM
quote:Originally posted by LM-12: NASA photo KSC-64PC-0082 is a classic shot of Missile Row...
That is my favorite photo of Cape Canaveral. Every time I go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex I always try to go to the "Cape" area. Just imagine if those launch towers were still there — the stories they could tell us? Wow!
tetrox Member
Posts: 142 From: London England Registered: Jan 2008
posted 10-31-2011 08:12 AM
Here are two contemporary films showing aerial footage of the Cape:
ApolloAlex Member
Posts: 390 From: Yeovil, England Registered: Oct 2004
posted 11-05-2011 12:02 PM
When you do the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex "Then & Now" tour, you do get a sense of nostalgia and that the Cape was the place to be, although there is visible signs of nature retaking where mighty rockets once launched from.
413 is in Member
Posts: 721 From: Alexandria, VA USA Registered: May 2006
posted 11-05-2011 01:10 PM
quote:Originally posted by mjanovec: While Pad 19's umbilical tower is gone, the erector tower is still there, lying in the down position.
Here's a photo of sunrise over Pad 19 that I took while working at the Cape in August 1997. The white room is still present in this photo. It was removed and restored in 2003.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-05-2011 02:13 PM
NASA photo S64-22412 is a nice shot showing part of Missile Row and the unmanned Gemini 1 launch in 1964.
There are a few good photos of the restored Pad 19 Gemini White Room from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Space and Missile Museum website.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-11-2011 03:48 AM
The current active launch pads at Cape Canaveral are LC-37B (Delta IV), LC-41 (Atlas V) and LC-40 (Falcon). Is that correct?
It looks like the first MPCV Orion flight will launch on a Delta IV Heavy from Pad 37B.
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 11-11-2011 06:32 AM
LC-46 will be used for an Orion abort test.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-13-2011 03:04 PM
The astronauts' famous beach house is on Missile Row between LC-40 and LC-41. Was it used by the Mercury and Gemini astronauts, or just later crews?
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 11-13-2011 05:35 PM
Later crews. It was used for many things before that.
By the way, Missile Row only describes complexes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20. Some include 36 and 34, but 40 and 41 are not part of it. They are included in the ITL (Integrate-Transfer-Launch) area.
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3799 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 11-13-2011 08:44 PM
"Missile Row" was also referred to as "ICBM Row" that included all the early Atlas and Titan launch complexes from Pads 11 thru 20, but not 17/18.
Missile Row, though, did include the twin Atlas/Centaur facilities off the Cape's ICBM Road and Central Control Road.
The astronauts' beach house, located on the Cape's Desoto Beach between Pads 40/41, has been in use by astronauts and their families for more than 45 years.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-15-2011 09:02 AM
What was the purpose of the Gemini-Agena test platform shown in NASA photo S65-52015 and where was it located at Cape Canaveral?
Steven Kaplan Member
Posts: 162 From: New Jersey Registered: Jul 2001
posted 11-15-2011 09:52 AM
Not sure where it at the Cape it was located, but I believe the tower/platform allowed for radio and radar checks between the two spacecraft. Note that the platform was constructed largely of wood to minimize interference.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-15-2011 10:05 AM
I guess the testing was done outdoors for a reason as opposed to inside a place like Hangar S for example.
The wooden construction is interesting.
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 11-15-2011 10:21 AM
quote:Originally posted by LM-12: ...where was it located at Cape Canaveral?
It was located at KSC in the part of the industrial area known as the hypergolics area. Gemini spacecraft were not processed on the Cape. The buildings in the background were later used to service the OMS and RCS pods on the shuttle.
One of them was known at the time as the pyrotechnics installation building. A Gemini spacecraft is shown in it in the book "Apollo Expeditions to the Moon."
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-15-2011 11:15 AM
Just to get my bearings - that is the same industrial area where the NASA KSC Headquarters building is located. Is that correct?
NASA photo S66-47635 looks like the Gemini photo you are referring to.
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 11-15-2011 03:03 PM
Yes, that is the KSC industrial area. There is also a CCAFS industrial area.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-15-2011 04:55 PM
Okay - thanks Jim, Steven and Ken. Up until now I thought that the Gemini-Agena wooden test platform was probably located out near the pad somewhere.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-17-2011 06:48 AM
The Missile Row launch pads can barely be seen in this NASA KSC-2009-5007 aerial photo of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station industrial area. I believe that is the famous Hangar S in the lower right corner - and Pad 14 in the distance.
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 11-17-2011 09:12 AM
Starting from the lower left, the green empty lot is where Hangar L was. Hangar L was where life science payloads were prepared and where the Challenger astronaut remains brought after recovery. Next is Hangar M, where Thor and Delta hardware was staged. Building AO is in the lower middle. That is where many of the early JPL spacecraft were prepared. It was turned over to the Delta program for first and second stage checkout. It now has been turned over to SpaceX. The next building is AM, another non hazardous payload processing facility. The building between Hangar S and Building AM is Building AE, home to the NASA ELV Mission Director Center, telemetry station, Launch Vehicle Data Centers and small 10K cleanroom. Hangar AF is out of the view.
The upper radome in the middle is a GPS ground station and the buildings above it are NRO facilities. The building in the upper right corner of the industrial area is the new fire station which replaced the original industrial area station located the corner of the four way down the way from the new station. The old range control center is located in the upper left corner of the industrial area.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-17-2011 10:51 AM
Thanks for the tour Jim.
It is interesting to see the Central Control Road view from both ends.
413 is in Member
Posts: 721 From: Alexandria, VA USA Registered: May 2006
posted 11-17-2011 11:29 AM
Yeah, nice tour Jim. You can also match things up with this map of the CCAFS industrial area from November 1992.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-17-2011 11:50 AM
Great map — looks like Hangar N was also a NASA SRB hangar.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-19-2011 01:27 AM
It looks like that old Pad 19 Gemini billboard shown in an earlier post has been spruced up a bit as can be seen on this Astronaut Scholarship Foundation photo (via the organization's Facebook page).
hlbjr Member
Posts: 571 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
posted 11-19-2011 06:23 AM
Notice Stafford's name is misspelled in one instance.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3914 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-19-2011 08:54 AM
quote:Originally posted by hlbjr: Notice Stafford's name is misspelled in one instance.
If you look closely on the old billboard, you can see that there is a screw or a bolt covering the top of the first "f" in the "Stafford" name. The guy who made the new sign probably thought it was a "t" and re-painted it that way.
I guess he didn't notice that Stafford flew twice on Gemini.
posted 10-24-2011 03:07 PM
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