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Gallery: Launches

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1950. The Bumper V-2 was the first missile launched at Cape Canaveral on July 24, 1950.

1965. Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) lift-off carrying James McDivitt and Ed White for a four-day mission. This flight included the first spacewalk by an American astronaut, performed by Ed White.

1961. Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) launch with chimpanzee Ham, the first primate in space.

1962. Launch of Friendship 7, the first American manned orbital space flight. Astronaut John Glenn aboard, the Mercury-Atlas rocket is launched from Pad 14.

1961. launch of Freedom 7, the first American manned suborbital space flight. Astronaut Alan Shepard aboard, the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) rocket is launched from Pad 5.

1963. launch of Mercury Atlas 9 rocket with astronaut Gordon Cooper onboard from launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1963. Mercury-Atlas 9 lifts off from Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper aboard Faith 7 for the nation's longest manned orbital flight. 34 hours, 20 minutes, 30 seconds, and 22 orbits later, Gordon Cooper was resting in his Faith 7 space capsule in the blue Pacific Ocean.

1965. Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) lift-off from Pad 19. This flight included the first spacewalk by an American astronaut.

1965. NASA launched the Gemini 5 spacecraft, August 21, 1965 at 0900 EST on a planned eight-day mission from Complex 19. Astronaut Gordon Cooper was the Command Pilot and Charles Conrad the Pilot. This was the longest manned spaceflight at the time.

1965. The Gemini VI, scheduled as a two-day mission, was launched December 15, 1965from Pad 19, carrying astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., Command Pilot, and Thomas P. Stafford, Pilot. Gemini VI rendezvoused with Gemini VII, already orbiting the Earth.

1966. The Atlas-Centaur 10, carrying the Surveyor 1 spacecraft, lifting off from Pad 36A. The Surveyor 1 mission scouted the lunar surface for future Apollo manned lunar landing sites.

1966. Atlas Agena target vehicle liftoff for Gemini 11 from Pad 14. Once the Agena was in orbit, Gemini 11 rendezvoused and docked with it.

1966. Lift-off of Gemini-Titan 11 (GT-11) on Complex 19. The Gemini 11 mission included a rendezvous with an Agena target vehicle.

1969. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's launch Complex 39A.

1969. At 9:32 a.m. EDT, the swing arms move away and a plume of flame signals the liftoff of the Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle and astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. from Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A.

1969. The American flag heralds the flight of Apollo 11, the first Lunar landing mission. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifted off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's launch Complex 39A.

1969. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle climbs toward orbit after liftoff from Pad 39A. In 2 1/2 minutes of powered flight, the S-IC booster lifts the vehicle to an altitude of about 39 miles some 55 miles downrange. This photo was taken with a 70mm telescopic camera mounted in an Air Force EC-135N plane. Onboard are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

1971. The Apollo 14 Saturn V Space Vehicle, carrying Astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off at 4:03 p.m. EST on January 31, 1971, from the Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A, to begin the fourth manned lunar landing mission.

1972. The Apollo 16 Saturn V space vehicle carrying astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Charles M. Duke, Jr., lifted off to the Moon at 12:54 p.m. EST April 16, 1972, from the Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A.

1972. An Atlas-Centaur space vehicle lifted off at 5:53 p.m. EDT, June 13, 1972, from Complex 36B carrying an Intelsat Communications Satellite, (Intelsat IV-F5) into Earth orbit. Visible in the foreground is the lighthouse located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

1973. The Saturn IB launch vehicle lifting off from launch Complex 39B at 9:01 a.m. EST. The Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue, were onboard for the third and final mission to the orbiting space station.

1975. The Apollo Soyuz Test Project Saturn IB launch vehicle thundered away from KSC's launch Complex 39B at 3:50 p.m. Aboard the Apollo Command Module were ASTP Astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton. The astronauts will rendezvous and dock with a Soyuz spacecraft, launched this morning from the Baikonur launch facility in the Soviet Union, carrying Soviet cosmonauts Aleksey Leonov and Valerly Kubasov.

1975. Viking 1 was launched by a Titan/Centaur rocket from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:22 p.m. EDT to begin a half-billion mile, 11-month journey through space to explore Mars. The 4-ton spacecraft went into orbit around the red planet in mid-1976.

1981. Space Shuttle Columbia liftoff from Complex 39A during the first launch of the space shuttle.

1981. The Space Shuttle rises majestically above launch Complex 39's Pad A on the first leg of its maiden journey into space. On board for the historic flight are astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen, scheduled to spend nearly 54 hours in space on this first shakedown test of Americas's new reusable Space Transportation System (STS).

1981. The April 12 launch at Pad 39A of STS-1, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1988. The Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five-man crew from Pad 39B at 11:37 a.m. September 29, 1988, as Discovery embarked on a four-day, one-hour mission.

1988. The Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five man crew from Pad 39-B at 11:37 a.m. on September 29, 1988.

1989. An oceanside view of the STS-29 Discovery launch from Pad 39B.

1990. The Space Shuttle Columbia on Pad 39A during the picture-perfect ascent of sister ship Discovery after lift off of STS-31. This was the first time since January 1986 that there was a Shuttle on each pad, which are separated by 1.6 miles. Discovery, carrying a five-member crew and the Hubble Space Telescope, lifted off at 8:34 a.m. EDT, April 24.

1991. The Space Shuttle Atlantis streaks skyward as sunlight pierces through the gap between the orbiter and ET assembly. Atlantis lifted off on the 42nd space shuttle flight at 11:02 a.m. EDT on August 2, 1991 carrying a crew of five and TDRS-E.

1992. The Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew of six lifted off from PAD 39B at 1:09 p.m. EDT, on a ten-day mission. The primary payload of Space Shuttle mission STS-52 is the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS II).

1992. The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from Pad 39B on a ten-day mission with a crew of five NASA Astronauts and a Canadian Payload Specialist.

1992. With its twin solid rocket boosters and three main engines churning at seven million pounds of thrust, the Space Shuttle Atlantis thunders skyward from launch Pad 39A.

1993. The first flight of the commercially developed SPACEHAB laboratory module begins with the flawless liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from launch Pad 39B at 9:07:22 a.m. EDT, June 21, 1993. Also planned for the eight-day flight of Mission STS-57 is the retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).

1993. The longest Space Shuttle flight in program history begins at 10:53:10 a.m. EDT with a flawless liftoff from launch Pad 39B. During the 14 day flight of STS-58, a seven member crew will study extensively the adaptation of the human body to the near-weightless environment of space.

1994. A golden new era in space cooperation begins with a flawless countdown and the ontime liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-60. The first Shuttle mission of 1994 carries the first Russian cosmonaut, Sergei K. Krikalev, to fly on the Space Shuttle.

1994. The Space Shuttle Discovery soars skyward from launch Pad 39B on Mission STS-64 at 6:22:35 p.m. EDT, September 9, 1994. On board are a crew of six: Commander Richard N. Richards; Pilot L. Blaine Hammond Jr.; and Mission Specialists Mark C. Lee, Carl J. Meade, Susan J. Helms and Dr. J.M. Linenger.

1994. Hundreds of birds scatter as the typical quiet reverie of their day is temporarily broken by the roar of a Space Shuttle surging off the pad. The orbiter Atlantis returned to space after an approximately two-year absence with a liftoff from launch Pad 39B.

1994. The 66th Space Shuttle flight begins with a nearly ontime liftoff of Space Shuttle Mission STS-66 into clear Florida skies. The orbiter Atlantis returned to space after an approximately two year absence with a liftoff from launch Pad 39B.

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	1950. The Bumper V-2 was the first missile launched at Cape Canaveral on July 24, 1950.
	1965. Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) lift-off carrying James McDivitt and Ed White for a four-day mission. This flight included the first spacewalk by an American astronaut, performed by Ed White.
	1961. Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) launch with chimpanzee Ham, the first primate in space.
	1962. Launch of Friendship 7, the first American manned orbital space flight. Astronaut John Glenn aboard, the Mercury-Atlas rocket is launched from Pad 14.
	1961. launch of Freedom 7, the first American manned suborbital space flight. Astronaut Alan Shepard aboard, the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) rocket is launched from Pad 5.
	1963. launch of Mercury Atlas 9 rocket with astronaut Gordon Cooper onboard from launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
	1963. Mercury-Atlas 9 lifts off from Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper aboard Faith 7 for the nation's longest manned orbital flight. 34 hours, 20 minutes, 30 seconds, and 22 orbits later, Gordon Cooper was resting in his Faith 7 space capsule in the blue Pacific Ocean.
	1965. Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) lift-off from Pad 19. This flight included the first spacewalk by an American astronaut.
	1965. NASA launched the Gemini 5 spacecraft, August 21, 1965 at 0900 EST on a planned eight-day mission from Complex 19. Astronaut Gordon Cooper was the Command Pilot and Charles Conrad the Pilot. This was the longest manned spaceflight at the time.
	1965. The Gemini VI, scheduled as a two-day mission, was launched December 15, 1965from Pad 19, carrying astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., Command Pilot, and Thomas P. Stafford, Pilot. Gemini VI rendezvoused with Gemini VII, already orbiting the Earth.
	1966. The Atlas-Centaur 10, carrying the Surveyor 1 spacecraft, lifting off from Pad 36A. The Surveyor 1 mission scouted the lunar surface for future Apollo manned lunar landing sites.
	1966. Atlas Agena target vehicle liftoff for Gemini 11 from Pad 14. Once the Agena was in orbit, Gemini 11 rendezvoused and docked with it.
	1966. Lift-off of Gemini-Titan 11 (GT-11) on Complex 19. The Gemini 11 mission included a rendezvous with an Agena target vehicle.
	1969. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's launch Complex 39A.
	1969. At 9:32 a.m. EDT, the swing arms move away and a plume of flame signals the liftoff of the Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle and astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. from Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A.
	1969. The American flag heralds the flight of Apollo 11, the first Lunar landing mission. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifted off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's launch Complex 39A.
	1969. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle climbs toward orbit after liftoff from Pad 39A. In 2 1/2 minutes of powered flight, the S-IC booster lifts the vehicle to an altitude of about 39 miles some 55 miles downrange. This photo was taken with a 70mm telescopic camera mounted in an Air Force EC-135N plane. Onboard are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.
	1971. The Apollo 14 Saturn V Space Vehicle, carrying Astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off at 4:03 p.m. EST on January 31, 1971, from the Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A, to begin the fourth manned lunar landing mission.
	1972. The Apollo 16 Saturn V space vehicle carrying astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Charles M. Duke, Jr., lifted off to the Moon at 12:54 p.m. EST April 16, 1972, from the Kennedy Space Center launch Complex 39A.
	1972. An Atlas-Centaur space vehicle lifted off at 5:53 p.m. EDT, June 13, 1972, from Complex 36B carrying an Intelsat Communications Satellite, (Intelsat IV-F5) into Earth orbit. Visible in the foreground is the lighthouse located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
	1973. The Saturn IB launch vehicle lifting off from launch Complex 39B at 9:01 a.m. EST. The Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue, were onboard for the third and final mission to the orbiting space station.
	1975. The Apollo Soyuz Test Project Saturn IB launch vehicle thundered away from KSC's launch Complex 39B at 3:50 p.m. Aboard the Apollo Command Module were ASTP Astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton. The astronauts will rendezvous and dock with a Soyuz spacecraft, launched this morning from the Baikonur launch facility in the Soviet Union, carrying Soviet cosmonauts Aleksey Leonov and Valerly Kubasov.
	1975. Viking 1 was launched by a Titan/Centaur rocket from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:22 p.m. EDT to begin a half-billion mile, 11-month journey through space to explore Mars. The 4-ton spacecraft went into orbit around the red planet in mid-1976.
	1981. Space Shuttle Columbia liftoff from Complex 39A during the first launch of the space shuttle.
	1981. The Space Shuttle rises majestically above launch Complex 39's Pad A on the first leg of its maiden journey into space. On board for the historic flight are astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen, scheduled to spend nearly 54 hours in space on this first shakedown test of Americas's new reusable Space Transportation System (STS).
	1981. The April 12 launch at Pad 39A of STS-1, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
	1988. The Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five-man crew from Pad 39B at 11:37 a.m. September 29, 1988, as Discovery embarked on a four-day, one-hour mission.
	1988. The Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five man crew from Pad 39-B at 11:37 a.m. on September 29, 1988.
	1989. An oceanside view of the STS-29 Discovery launch from Pad 39B.
	1990. The Space Shuttle Columbia on Pad 39A during the picture-perfect ascent of sister ship Discovery after lift off of STS-31. This was the first time since January 1986 that there was a Shuttle on each pad, which are separated by 1.6 miles. Discovery, carrying a five-member crew and the Hubble Space Telescope, lifted off at 8:34 a.m. EDT, April 24.
	1991. The Space Shuttle Atlantis streaks skyward as sunlight pierces through the gap between the orbiter and ET assembly. Atlantis lifted off on the 42nd space shuttle flight at 11:02 a.m. EDT on August 2, 1991 carrying a crew of five and TDRS-E.
	1992. The Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew of six lifted off from PAD 39B at 1:09 p.m. EDT, on a ten-day mission. The primary payload of Space Shuttle mission STS-52 is the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS II).
	1992. The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from Pad 39B on a ten-day mission with a crew of five NASA Astronauts and a Canadian Payload Specialist.
	1992. With its twin solid rocket boosters and three main engines churning at seven million pounds of thrust, the Space Shuttle Atlantis thunders skyward from launch Pad 39A.
	1993. The first flight of the commercially developed SPACEHAB laboratory module begins with the flawless liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from launch Pad 39B at 9:07:22 a.m. EDT, June 21, 1993. Also planned for the eight-day flight of Mission STS-57 is the retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).
	1993. The longest Space Shuttle flight in program history begins at 10:53:10 a.m. EDT with a flawless liftoff from launch Pad 39B. During the 14 day flight of STS-58, a seven member crew will study extensively the adaptation of the human body to the near-weightless environment of space.
	1994. A golden new era in space cooperation begins with a flawless countdown and the ontime liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-60. The first Shuttle mission of 1994 carries the first Russian cosmonaut, Sergei K. Krikalev, to fly on the Space Shuttle.
	1994. The Space Shuttle Discovery soars skyward from launch Pad 39B on Mission STS-64 at 6:22:35 p.m. EDT, September 9, 1994. On board are a crew of six: Commander Richard N. Richards; Pilot L. Blaine Hammond Jr.; and Mission Specialists Mark C. Lee, Carl J. Meade, Susan J. Helms and Dr. J.M. Linenger.
	1994. Hundreds of birds scatter as the typical quiet reverie of their day is temporarily broken by the roar of a Space Shuttle surging off the pad. The orbiter Atlantis returned to space after an approximately two-year absence with a liftoff from launch Pad 39B.
	1994. The 66th Space Shuttle flight begins with a nearly ontime liftoff of Space Shuttle Mission STS-66 into clear Florida skies. The orbiter Atlantis returned to space after an approximately two year absence with a liftoff from launch Pad 39B.