Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 18

LC-18

Mission Profile

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 18 (LC-18) was an early multi-purpose launch facility that supported a variety of research and orbital rockets between 1956 and 1969, including the Viking sounding rocket, the Vanguard program that attempted America's first satellite, the Thor ballistic missile, and the Scout solid-fuel launch vehicle. The Vanguard TV3 launch failure at LC-18 on 6 December 1957 — just two months after Sputnik — was broadcast live and became an embarrassing symbol of US technological challenge before Explorer 1's successful launch three months later. LC-18 served as an important test bed for a broad range of early US rocketry technologies before more specialized pads took over the dedicated missions.