Space Launch Complex 34 – Biking Through Space Ruins – Part 1 – 2015
One of my favorite places to visit while working at the Space Center was Space Launch Complex 34 (SLC-34) – Home of the Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B. Originally constructed for a missile named Juno, the name was changed to Saturn in 1959 and NASA took over the program from the Army Ballistic Missile Program.
The Launch Complex is located on the North side of Cape Canaveral (see location map below).
Over the years I visited the Launch Site many times, sometimes for work related tasks and others on a bike ride out at The Cape. I will have several additional write-ups with photos about those visits in multiple parts.
A brief history of the Launch Complex – (From the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum):
- First occupied in February, 1961
- In March of 1961, the $4 million service tower was moved on its tracks for the first time.
- Construction was complete in January, 1962.
- The Flame Deflector is 43′ long, 32′ wide and 21′ high, weighs 150 tons.
- From 1961 tom 1968, Four Saturn I and three Saturn IB launched.
- On January 27th, 1967, First manned Saturn IB Apollo test flight was scheduled for launch on 21 February 1967. Tragedy struck on 27 January 1967 at 1831 hours when a flash fire in the capsule killed astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White III and Roger B. Chaffee. (More on this tragedy in a later post).
- October, 1968 – First manned Saturn IB Apollo launch, Apollo 7, the only manned Apollo launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Apollo program continued from neighboring Kennedy Space Center Pads 39A and 39B.
- Complex 34 was deactivated in 1969 and mothballed in 1971.
.
On this particular visit in March of 2015, I started a bike ride near the Cape Cafeteria area located near the Cape Hangars on Hangar Road, a few miles south of SLC-34. As you head north on Hangar Road it merges into Cape Road, also known as Samuel C. Phillips Parkway which takes you straight to Complex 34. A small portion at the end of Cape Road is known as Freedom Road and encircles the Launch Site (see map below).
As I approached Launch Complex 34 on Cape Road, I rode up a camera pad and snapped a picture of the Complex and Blockhouse from on top of a Camera Pad (See image below).
As I made my way around the Launch Complex and up to the Pad Surface, you come up to the existing Launch Mount.
The Beach at Complex 34
For several years the beach at Complex 34 was open for fishing. There was a boardwalk over the dunes that led down to the beach. A hurricane took out the boardwalk and the Air Force Station decided not to rebuild it or have it open for fishing. I was fortunate enough to visit the beach before it was closed to Cape workers. On this particular day in 2015 I rode my bike to a road north of the Pad surface that led right down to the pristine beach.
Apollo 1 Memorial
I’ll leave you with one last picture of the Apollo 1 bench memorial located up on the Pad Surface. Each bench is dedicated to the Apollo 1 astronauts who last their lives that day on January 27th, 1967. RIP Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White III and Roger B. Chaffee. More on the Apollo 1 memorial at Complex 34 in another post.
About the Author and Photographer: Alden Pitard has over 40 years experience working in the Aerospace Industry at Cape Canaveral, The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Boeing locations throughout the country. He has supported the Space Shuttle Program, International Space Station, 787 Dreamliner and most recently the Artemis Program. During his time at "The Cape" he photographed a majority of the Launch Sites at KSC and Cape Canaveral. As the Space Shuttle program was coming to a close in 2011, the author decided to bike to all the Launch Complexes he could and capture the Space Center and Cape Canaveral as it was - thus "Biking through Space Ruins".