Cape Canaveral Lighthouse – Throwback Thursday (TBT) – May 31st, 2018
Weather in Florida in the summer always brings afternoon thunderstorms and on many occasions they would hit The Cape as I was leaving work. On this particular late May afternoon I was able to escape the office just as the storm was approaching the Space Center.
I quickly detoured out to the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse and captured the lighthouse as the storm approached.
Bonus Photos of Launch Complex 9-10 and Launch Complex 31 and 32 as the storm approached.
My route home on The Cape takes me by several other launch complexes so I was able to stop and get a few photo’s of these two launch complexes.
Launch complexes 9 and 10 were built to support the Navaho winged intercontinental missile program and utilized the same blockhouse; the two pads featured different launching methods.
Launch Complex 9
Launch Complex 31 and 32
And Launch Complex 31 and 32 are just across the street from Launch Complex 9 and 10. This launch complex was built for the Minuteman rocket and contain silos that were about 90 feet deep with a large equipment room under the Pad next to each silo.
Wreckage and boxes of Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51L) debris are buried in silos 31B and 32B.
Below are storm clouds over the Space Center.
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".