Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17
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 The first stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket, which launched NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), is lifted into a vertical position for installation into the mobile service tower at Pad 17B |
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| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
|---|---|
| Location | 28.446704°N 80.566022°W |
| Short name | LC-17 |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Total launches | TBC |
| Launch pad(s) | 2 |
| Minimum / maximum orbital inclination | 28°-57° |
| LC-17A launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launches | TBC |
| First launch | Thor, 30 August 1957 |
| Last launch | GPS 2R-20, 24 March 2009 |
| Associated rockets | Thor Delta Delta II (current) |
| LC-17B launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launches | TBC |
| First launch | Thor, 25 January 1957 |
| Last launch | Kepler, 7 March 2009 |
| Associated rockets | Thor Delta Delta II (current) Delta III |
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17 is a launch site at Merritt Island, Florida.
It was first built in 1956 for use with the PGM-17 Thor missile, the first operational ballistic missile in the arsenal of the United States. More recently the launch complex has been used for vehicles in the Delta rocket family to launch probes to the Moon and planets, solar observatories and weather satellites.
LC-17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station features two active expendable launch vehicle (ELV) launch pads, 17-A and 17-B. The pads are run by the US Air Force's 45th Space Wing and have supported more than 300 Department of Defense, NASA and commercial missile and rocket launches. Pad 17-A supported its first Thor missile launch on 3 August 1957, and Pad 17-B supported its first Thor launch on 25 January 1957. The site was upgraded in the early 1960s to support a variety of more modern Expendable Launch Vehicles, which were derived from the basic Thor booster. The modern ELVs based on Thor came to be called the Delta family of rockets.
Thirty-five early Delta rocket missions were launched from Complex 17 between the beginning of 1960 and the end of 1965. At that time the complex was run by the Air Force. The Air Force transferred Complex 17 to NASA in 1965, but the site was returned to the Air Force in 1988 to support the Delta II program.
As Delta II launches continued over the next decade, Pad 17-B was modified in 1997 to support a new, more powerful launch vehicle, the Delta III. The Delta III made its first successful launch debut on Pad 17-B 23 August 2000.
Among the major NASA missions launched from the complex were the Explorer and Pioneer space probes, all of the Orbiting Solar Observatories, Solar Maximum, Biological Satellites (BIOS), Television Infrared Observations Satellites (TIROS) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES).
[edit] References
Lynda Warnock; Dennis Armstrong (20 May 2004). "MESSENGER Launch Pad Activities: About Launch Complex 17". NASA. http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/messenger/lc17.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 28°26′48″N 80°33′58″W / 28.446704°N 80.566022°W
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