Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14

Launch Complex 14

Aerial view of Mercury-Atlas 9 at LC-14 in 1963
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Location	28°29′28″N 80°32′49″W / 28.49111°N 80.54694°W / 28.49111; -80.54694Coordinates: 28°29′28″N 80°32′49″W / 28.49111°N 80.54694°W / 28.49111; -80.54694
Short name	LC-14
Operator	US Air Force
Total launches	32
Launch pad(s)	1
Min / max orbital inclination	28° – 57°
Launch history Status Inactive First launch Atlas A, 11 June 1957 Last launch Agena Target Vehicle for Gemini 12, 11 November 1966 Associated rockets Atlas Atlas-Agena

Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) is a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. LC-14 was used for various manned and unmanned Atlas launches, including the Friendship 7 flight aboard which John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

LC-14 was the first Atlas pad in operation and hosted the initial test flights in 1957–58. It was also the only one of the original four Atlas pads to never have a booster explode on it. By 1959, it was decided to convert the pad for the Atlas D missile and space launches, and a large service tower was added early in the year. The first Atlas flown from the renovated LC-14 was Missile 7D on May 18, however a problem with the launcher hold-down arms damaged the missile and caused its explosion shortly after launch. This was traced to improper procedures during the renovation of the pad and was quickly fixed. The first space launch off of LC-14 was the Big Joe Mercury test in September. As the designated Mercury-Atlas facility, LC-14 was thus the only Atlas pad sporting the infrastructure needed for manned launches. The first MIDAS satellites, one Atlas-Able launch, and a few more ICBM tests were conducted from LC-14 before it was completely turned over to NASA.

LC-14 is most well known as the launch site for NASA's Mercury-Atlas 6 flight, which made Glenn the first American in orbit. It was also the launch site of the remaining three Mercury-Atlas flights and various unmanned Atlas launches. Later, it was the site for Atlas-Agena launches for the Agena Target Vehicles for Project Gemini.

Following decommissioning and abandonment as an active launch site, LC-14 slowly fell into decay. The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean created an ideal environment for corrosion of metal components, and the complex's red metal gantry structures were dismantled for safety purposes in the 1970s.