Launch Complex 30 (LC-30) is a former

launch complex A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform ( mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Located in the southern portion of Cape Canaveral, the complex was used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

to conduct research tests of their Pershing I missile from 1960 to 1963. It consists of two pads, LC-30A and LC-30B, the latter of which was never used.

History

Launch Complex 30 was originally constructed from 1958 to 1960 as part of the early expansion of

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

's rocketry activities. It was designed in mind for use by the

to test the

MGM-31 Pershing The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile ...

, an

SRBM A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of to . In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their relative low co ...

planned to be used as a

theater ballistic missile A theatre ballistic missile (TBM) is any ballistic missile used against targets " in-theatre". Examples of this type of in-theatre missile are the Soviet RT-15, TR-1 Temp and American PGM-19 Jupiter missile, both from the 1960s. Specific TBM ...

, differing from the other more strategic long-range missiles being launched from the area. The construction is noteworthy for the

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

built for LC-30, being the only one in the entire Cape to be multilevel, consisting of two stories. The first launch from LC-30 came on February 25, 1960, seeing the maiden flight of the Pershing I take off from LC-30A. Over the next three years, the complex would see a total of 56 launches, the entirety of them being from pad 30A. With the missile getting activated for military use in 1962, LC-30 would get deactivated and placed into caretaker status the next year, seeing its most recent launch to date on April 24, 1963. In February 1968, the mobile service towers for the pads were demolished and sold for scrap. The next month, use of LC-30 was given to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a facility to use for the assembly of the

Mark 48 torpedo The Mark 48 and its improved Advanced Capability (ADCAP) variant are American heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships. History The Mark 48 wa ...

for use in sea tests. In the present day, the facility is used by various contractors in support of various other operations at CCSFS, with the blockhouse getting converted into office space. Additionally, there is a Pershing I on display at LC-30 to showcase the facility's previous use in missile tests.

Launch statistics

References

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station {{space-stub

History

Launch statistics

See also

References