Launch Complex 14 - Mercury/Atlas Launch Pad

Local Copy

On 20 February, 1962 Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn Jr. was boosted into orbit atop a modified Atlas launch vehicle in his Friendship 7 capsule. That morning he circled the Earth, in all, three times. He became the first American in orbit and the third American in space. Glenn spent a total of 4 hours 48 minutes and 27 seconds in weightlessness.

Launch Complex 14 was the pad he was launched from - as were the following three Mercury astronauts. LC-14 was originally an Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile pad located on a section of the Cape known as ICBM Row. It was converted for manned operations late in the 1950's.

This model is made almost entirely from photo-etch brass. The Launch Stand, part of the ramp, the Atlas Launcher and the Emergency Egress Tower are modelled in this kit.

This model does not include the A-frame shaped Service Tower - which is available separately as the Launch Complex 14 Mercury/Atlas Service Tower.

The Atlas Launcher includes a tilt mechanism allowing the Atlas rockets to be delivered by truck horizontally. It was then lifted into the vertical - the position it would later be launched from.

Three scale versions are currently planned. The 1:144 and 1:72 versions will be primarily designed to work with RealSpace Models Mercury Atlas and Atlas Agena D scale models, although any correctly scaled model should work just as well. The 1:110 scale version is designed to replace the Pad and Launch Stand in the Revell/Monogram John Glenn Mercury Atlas kit.

If you would like another scale, such as for the 1:48 scale Eagle's Talon kit which is being Proposed, of if you would like models of LC-11, LC-12 or early era LC-13 "Hush Hush" Pad (which are all fairly similar) please do e-mail me to let me know.