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LC-14 Mercury 6 - first American in orbit (Photo credit AF Space and Missile Museum)
Launch Complex 14 is one of the more historically important complexes at Cape Canaveral. It was from here that the USAF’s first Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) , and where the first American to orbit the Earth were launched.
SLC-14 was used for the early Mercury missions, with the mercury spaceship propelled into space on-top of Atlas D rocket boosters. This site was also used for Pioneer, Midas, Gemini and TDA missions.
The first rocket flown from LC-14 was on Jun 11th 1957, since then 32 launches were made until the final launch on November 11th 1966. The pad was operated by both USAF and NASA during this period.
The most prestigious flight from this pad was on February 20th 1962 when Mercury 6 call sign “Friendship 7″ launched John Glen Jr into orbit. An issue with one of the automatic systems required Glen to take over manual control of part of the flight.
Fast forward to 1984 when the Launch Complex 14 and the gantry on LC-13 were declared National Historic Monuments, only for the LC-13 gantry to corrode to such an extent that it had to be demolished in 2005. In 1997 the 45th Space Wing of the USAF started restoration of LC-14, which resulted in the blockhouse and surrounding concrete apron being restored, but the launch pad itself is fenced off.
At the entrance to the Launch Complex 14 there is a Titanium sculpture of the Mercury symbol and several memorials commemorating the Mercury Project. There is also a time capsule recording the project to be opened in the year 2464.
