Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13

Launch Complex 13

Atlas with Mariner 3 at Launch Complex 13 prior to launch on 4 November 1964
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Location	28°29′09″N 80°32′40″W / 28.4859°N 80.5444°W / 28.4859; -80.5444Coordinates: 28°29′09″N 80°32′40″W / 28.4859°N 80.5444°W / 28.4859; -80.5444
Short name	LC-13
Operator	US Air Force NASA
Total launches	52
Launch pad(s)	One
Launch history Status Inactive. Land leased to SpaceX as Landing Zone 1 First launch Atlas B 4B 2 August 1958 Last launch Atlas Agena D 5505A 7 April 1978 Associated rockets Atlas B Atlas D Atlas E Atlas F Atlas-Agena

Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the third-most southerly of the original launch complexes known as Missile Row, lying between LC-12 and LC-14. The LC-13 site is currently leased by SpaceX and has been renovated for use as Landing Zone 1, their east coast landing location for returning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicle booster stages.

LC-13 was originally used for test launches of the SM-65 Atlas and subsequently for operational Atlas launches from 1958 to 1978. It was the most-used and longest-serving of the original four Atlas pads. It was inactive between 1980 and 2015.

On 16 April 1984, it was added to the US National Register of Historic Places; however it was not maintained and gradually deteriorated. On 6 August 2005 the mobile service tower was demolished as a safety precaution due to structural damage by corrosion. The blockhouse was demolished in 2012.

LC-13 was on land owned by the US government and was originally controlled by the United States Air Force. It was transferred to NASA in 1964 and back to the Air Force in 1970. In January 2015, the land and remaining facilities at LC-13 were leased to SpaceX for a five-year lease.

Together with Launch Complexes 11, 12 and 14, LC-13 featured a more robust design than many contemporary pads due to the greater power of the Atlas compared to other rockets of the time. It was larger and featured a concrete launch pedestal that was 6 metres (20 ft) tall and a reinforced blockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by a ramp on the south side of the launch pedestal.