Complejo de lanzamiento de Cabo Cañaveral 34

La construcción de la plataforma de lanzamiento LC-34 comenzó en 1960 y fue inaugurada oficialmente el 5 de junio de 1961. El complejo constaba de una plataforma de lanzamiento, una torre umbilical, una torre de servicio móvil, instalaciones de repostaje y un búnker . Dos deflectores de llama de acero se montaron sobre rieles para permitir su colocación debajo de la plataforma de lanzamiento. La torre de servicio también se montó sobre rieles y se trasladó a una posición a 185 metros al oeste de la plataforma antes del lanzamiento. Con 95 metros de altura, era la estructura más alta de la LC-34.

El búnker, situado a 320 metros de la plataforma de lanzamiento, se inspiró en la estructura abovedada de hormigón armado de la plataforma LC-20 . Durante un lanzamiento, podía albergar a 130 personas, así como equipos de prueba e instrumentación. Los periscopios permitían ver el exterior de la instalación, que carecía de ventanas.

LC-34 saw its first launch on October 27, 1961. The first Saturn I, Block I, mission SA-1, lofted a dummy upper stage on a suborbital trajectory into the Atlantic. The subsequent three Saturn I launches took place at LC-34, ending with SA-4 on March 28, 1963. The six ensuing Saturn I, Block II launches were conducted at LC-37.

LC-34 was extensively modified to support Saturn IB launches, which began in February 1966. New anchor points were built to fasten the service structure in place during high winds. Access arms on the umbilical tower were rebuilt to match the larger rocket. At the 67-meter level, the swing arm was outfitted with a white room to permit access to the command module at the top of a rocket.

Two Saturn IBs (AS-201 and AS-202) were successfully launched from LC-34 before the Apollo 1 fire brought Apollo activities at the spaceport to an abrupt halt. After the fire, extinguishing equipment was installed at the top of the umbilical tower, and a slide wire was set up to provide astronauts a quick escape in the event of an emergency.

The first crewed Apollo launch, Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968, was the most recent time LC-34 was used. NASA considered reactivating both LC-34 and Launch Complex 37 for the Apollo Applications Program, but instead LC-39B was modified to launch Saturn IBs.

After the decommissioning of LC-34, the umbilical tower and service structure were razed, leaving only the launch platform standing at the center of the pad, as well as the two flame deflectors and the blockhouse. The original spherical Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank also stood at the pad until 2008, when it was purchased by SpaceX and relocated to Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) for use in Falcon 9 flights.

Currently, LC-34 is not tenanted by anybody and is primarily used as a memorial for Apollo 1. However, the United States Space Force has entertained leasing the pad to a commercial customer on account of its relatively large size and Cape Canaveral's limited real estate.^[1] Additionally, any precedent of a memorialized launch site refraining from getting a tenant was broken in 2023, when the Space Force awarded the lease for Launch Complex 14 (which has been similarly used to honor the Mercury Seven) to Stoke Space for use in Nova flights.^[2]

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  La plataforma 34 después de ser convertida en un sitio conmemorativo.
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  Deflectores de llamas de Saturno I e IB. La plataforma 37 se ve al fondo.
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  Blocao
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  El administrador de la NASA, James Webb, el vicepresidente Johnson y el presidente Kennedy reciben información durante una visita al Blockhouse 34 en 1962.
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  Envés
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  «Abandonar en el lugar», lo que significa abandonarlo «tal como está», sin ningún tipo de mantenimiento. La mayoría de los sitios históricos de lanzamiento en Cabo Cañaveral se clasifican de esta manera.
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  quiosco conmemorativo de astronautas
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  Bancos conmemorativos de granito en el extremo sur de la plataforma de lanzamiento.

Todos los vuelos son operados por la NASA .