Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34

Launch Complex 34

LC-34 with Saturn I rocket SA-4 on 28 March 1963
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Location	28°31′19″N 80°33′41″W / 28.52194°N 80.56139°W / 28.52194; -80.56139Coordinates: 28°31′19″N 80°33′41″W / 28.52194°N 80.56139°W / 28.52194; -80.56139
Short name	LC-34
Operator	US Air Force
Total launches	7
Launch pad(s)	1
Min / max orbital inclination	28° - 57°
Launch history Status Inactive First launch October 27, 1961 SA-1 Last launch October 11, 1968 Apollo 7 Associated rockets Saturn I Saturn IB

Cape Canaveral (known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973) Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 (LC-34) is a launch site on Cape Canaveral, Florida. LC-34 and its companion LC-37 to the north were used by NASA from 1961 through 1968 to launch Saturn I and IB rockets as part of the Apollo program. It was the site of the Apollo 1 fire, which claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967.

Work began on LC-34 in 1960, and it was formally dedicated on June 5, 1961. The complex consisted of a launch platform, umbilical tower, mobile service tower, fueling facilities, and a blockhouse. Two steel flame deflectors were mounted on rails to allow placement beneath the launch platform. The service tower was likewise mounted on rails, and it was moved to a position 185 meters west of the pad before launch. At 95 meters high, it was the tallest structure at LC-34.

The blockhouse, located 320 meters from the pad, was modeled after the domed reinforced concrete structure at LC-20. During a launch, it could accommodate 130 people as well as test and instrumentation equipment. Periscopes afforded views outside the windowless facility.

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.