HAER Level II Documentation of Launch Complexes 1/2, 3/4, 9/10, 14, and 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

Abstract

Abstract : This report presents Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Level II documentation of Launch Complexes 1/2, 3/4, 9/10, 14, and 34, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida. These facilities have played an important role in the American missile and manned space programs that began largely as a result of the Cold War. As the arms race expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, missile systems with increasing range and destructive power were deployed on both American and foreign soil. To bring these systems to operational readiness, long and complicated testing programs were necessary and required specialized facilities to support them. A national effort to put men on the surface of the moon also required specialized facilities at Cape Canaveral. These five complexes were constructed in the 1950s and early 1960s, with Launch Complexes 1/2, 3/4, and 9/10 used exclusively for rocket and missile testing, and Launch Complexes 14 and 34 also used for manned spaceflight. Launch Complexes 14 and 34 are part of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station National Historic Landmark District established in 1984.