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LC-6 Jupiter C rocket on the launch pad
Space Launch Complex 6 is part of a dual launch site with the Blockhouse being shared with LC-5. This complex was also connected to LC-26 by means of a dual track railroad most of which has long since been dismantled.
LC-6 was used to launch Jupiter, Matador and Redstone rockets with a number of different payloads, including the first Mercury spacecraft. The first launch attempt was made on the 20th April 1955 of a Redstone rocket, which launched successfully but suffered from a guidance system failure in flight..
It was not until the fifth flight from the launch pad that a Jupiter A rocket was successfully launched. In fact this pad was used for a large number of test flights and no actual missions. This probably accounts for the high number of launch/flight failures from this site, and the good success rate from its sister site LC-5.
This launch site has tracks enabling the servicing structure to be moved in and out from the pad, and indeed shared with LC-5 and LC-26. The gantry for the servicing structure enabled the rocket to be easily worked on whilst erect and it also provided protection from the elements in the run-up to the launch when the rocket would otherwise have been exposed.
LC-6 was active from April 1955 to June 1961. 44 flights were made from the complex see below for details.
