Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 37

Launch Complex 37 began construction in 1959, being envisioned to be a second site to launch the experimental heavy-lift Saturn rockets, joining Launch Complex 34 (LC-34) to the south. Originally, it was planned to be the launch site for an Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR) strategy to potentially be taken by the Apollo program, where a launch vehicle such as the Saturn C-3 would launch both the trans-lunar injection stage and the Lunar Excursion Module from the two pads, while the crew would lift off from LC-34 and intercept the two payloads in low Earth orbit. Despite NASA opting for a Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) approach and using the Saturn V from Launch Complex 39 to the north, they nonetheless accepted LC-37 to support the Saturn I program in 1963.{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/spp/military/facility/ccas-lc-37.htm |title=Complex 37 -- Cape Canaveral Air Station |access-date=2008-05-28 |publisher=Federation of American Scientists (www.fas.org) |date=2000-06-16 |archive-date=2008-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420093207/http://www.fas.org/spp/military/facility/ccas-lc-37.htm |url-status=dead}} File:Apollo 5 on pad.jpg at LC-37B in 1968|left]]

The original layout of the launch complex featured one Mobile Service Structure which could be used to service or mate a rocket on either LC-37A or 37B, but not on both simultaneously. The first launch from LC-37 came on January 29, 1964, launching Saturn I SA-5 as part of the rocketry development portion of the Apollo program. Over the next two years, a total of six uncrewed Saturn I flights were launched from the complex, mostly carrying boilerplate Apollo capsules alongside the three launches of the Pegasus project.

In late 1965, both LC-37 and LC-34 were modified to launch the Saturn I's successor, the Saturn IB. Similarly to its previous configuration, this was in support of Apollo development before the Saturn V's activation at Kennedy Space Center; however, the original purpose of EOR was also made ready as a backup in case complications render the Saturn V and LOR unfeasible. Only two Saturn IB launches were made from LC-37: the first one was AS-203 (or informally Apollo 3), which launched on July 5, 1966 and tested engine restart capabilities on the S-IVB upper stage. The second one was Apollo 5, lifting off on January 22, 1968 and carrying the first operational test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space. The facility was deactivated in 1972, following the conclusion of the Apollo program. Proposals were drawn of resuming Saturn IB launches from LC-37 and LC-34 as part of the Apollo Applications Program, but NASA instead opted to modify Launch Complex 39B for that role. LC-37 would sit dormant for the next 30 years.

In 1998, the United States Air Force and Boeing came into an agreement to use LC-37 for launching the Delta IV as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, getting rechristened as SLC-37 as a result of doing so. Having acquired the Delta family following their merger with McDonnell Douglas the previous year, Boeing aimed for the Delta IV to be a complement and not a replacement to the other active members of the time, the Delta II and Delta III. As such (and taking the difference in lift capabilities into account), a new launch site similar in size to SLC-37 was needed rather than continuing to use Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17). Facility modifications were made to SLC-37B in 2001, constructing a {{convert|330|ft|abbr=on}} tall Mobile Service Tower fitted to service all planned Delta IV configurations.{{cite web |date=March 2, 2000 |title=Boeing, Raytheon Top Off Nation's Newest Launch Tower |url=http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2000/news_release_000302h.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202004817/http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2000/news_release_000302h.html |archive-date=2008-12-02 |publisher=Boeing}} The complex was officially put into active service with the first launch of the Delta IV on November 20, 2002, carrying Eutelsat 70A to geostationary transfer orbit.

On December 21, 2004, SLC-37 supported the maiden flight of the Delta IV Heavy, which aimed at carrying a boilerplate and an assortment of small satellites into orbit. The next year, citing issues that sprang up with competition, Boeing announced that Delta operations at the pad and at SLC-17 would be combined with those of Atlas V at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) as part of a joint venture with Lockheed Martin. This handover would be made official with the establishment of United Launch Alliance (ULA) in December 2006, and SLC-37 supported its first launch under ULA with a Delta IV Heavy flight on November 11, 2007.

During the Delta IV era, SLC-37 underwent 35 launches of the family, consisting of 29 Medium launches and 16 Heavy launches.{{cite web |title=Launch Complex 37 |url=https://ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/launch-complex-37/ |access-date=September 30, 2023 |publisher=Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum}} Almost all payloads launched were governmental in nature, with a majority of that subsection being military customers such as the Air Force, the United States Navy, and the National Reconnaissance Office. Some notable missions launched from the facility include GOES-N, GOES-O, and GOES-P for NOAA throughout the late 2000s, Exploration Flight Test-1 for NASA's Orion spacecraft in 2014, and the Parker Solar Probe in 2018.

Throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, ULA began to wind down operations at the complex in preparation for the Delta IV's retirement. Their new launch vehicle to replace the Delta and Atlas families, Vulcan Centaur, was planning on having its launch site be at SLC-41 and as such ULA opted to let the SLC-37 lease expire. The final Delta IV Medium launch came on August 22, 2019 carrying a GPS satellite for the Air Force, while the last overall launch of the Delta family came with a Delta IV Heavy launch for the NRO on April 9, 2024.{{cite web |date=22 August 2019 |title=Delta IV Medium's well-earned retirement with GPS finale |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/08/delta-iv-medium-retirement-gps-finale/ |access-date=September 30, 2023 |publisher=NASASpaceflight}}

Following the retirement of the Delta IV, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that they would be creating a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the potential use of SpaceX's Starship at SLC-37, despite the pad not being officially leased out to anyone by the United States Space Force.{{Cite web |title=Space Force Starship EIS – Environmental Impact Statement for SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station |url=https://spaceforcestarshipeis.com/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |language=en-US}} The draft was originally set to be released by December 2024 but subsequently was delayed to Spring 2025, with the final study being due by September of that year.{{cite web |title=Starship EIS for Cape Canaveral |url=https://spaceforcestarshipeis.com/}}{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Mark |date=2024-03-17 |title=Starship Coming to Florida |url=https://www.hernandosun.com/2024/03/17/starship-coming-to-florida/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Hernando Sun |language=en-US}}

In March 2025, SpaceX announced that they received a limited right of entry for SLC-37.{{Cite web |last=SpaceX |author-link=SpaceX |date=3 March 2025 |title=Future of Building Starship |url=https://www.spacex.com/updates/ |website=spacex.com}} While this was not an official leasing announcement, they clarified in a statement that this issuing was in regards to the exploration and due diligence of the pad in support of the Starship EIS.

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All flights operated by NASA.

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{{Cape Canaveral launch pad map|highlight=7}}

All launches from 2002 to 2006 were operated by Boeing. All launches from 2007 to 2024 were operated by United Launch Alliance.

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File:LC-37.jpg|Map of Launch Complex 37 of the 1960s, with original Mobile Service Structure

File:Saturn SA9 launch.jpg|The launch of AS-103 with the Pegasus 1 satellite atop a Saturn I, from LC-37B in 1965

File:Liftoff for a Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) after its launch tower.jpg|The launch of GOES-N atop a Delta IV, from SLC-37B in 2006

File:Launch Complex 37.jpg|SLC-37B in 2010, with the Mobile Service Tower

{{Commons category|Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 37}}

• List of spaceflights by year
• List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites
• Project Apollo
• Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 34

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928205134/http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta4/delta4.htm Boeing Delta IV website]

{{Merritt Island}}

Category:Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Category:Launch complexes of the United States Space Force

Category:Apollo program

Category:1964 establishments in Florida