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Complex 19 |
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This is Complex 19. On the right is what remains of the launch pad. The red structure lying on its side is the erector. Normally, it would
be standing vertically so that the rocket on the pad could be serviced (there was also a vertical umbilical
tower, long since gone). When a rocket was launched, the erector was "dropped" to a
horizontal position. The building in the left of the photo is the theodolite building, which
housed equipment used to track a launch vehicle and determine its altitude. The
concrete area you see immediately to the right of the theodolite building is the
oxidizer storage area.
Complex 19 (along with Complexes 15, 16, and 20) were built in the late 1950’s to support launches of
Titan I and Titan II missiles. By 1963, Complex 19 was turned over to NASA and rebuilt to support Titan II
launches for the Gemini program. It supported a total of twelve Gemini missions until
its deactivation on April 10, 1967. Complex 19 was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1984.