Two mobile service towers were toppled at Space Launch Complex 36, which launched missions that set the stage for the country's moon and planet flights.

A total of about 122 pounds of explosives eliminated the base of the 209-foot-tall tower at pad 36B just after 10 a.m. Saturday, then did the same to its twin at Pad 36A minutes later.

The towers were taken down to prevent corrosion from becoming a safety concern, said Kevin Hooper, project manager with the 45th Space Wing's civil engineering.

"We have to take the structures down before nature takes them down," he said.

The day was emotional for those who, for years, worked at Complex 36. About 10 to 15 former staffers from the site, many who now have different jobs in the space industry, showed up for the toppling implosion and reminisced over old memories.

"There isn't a person here who hasn't shed a tear over this," said Gary Corfitzson, a quality control technologist who worked at the site from 1989 until 2005, when the Atlas program was moved solely to Complex 41. "It's like watching the house you grew up in be knocked down."

Corfitzson and others said they were proud of Atlas' launch rate, which included 11 successful launches in 1995.

"That's a lot of things going right," Corfitzson said.

Accessory towers at the launch complex were pulled down last fall, Hooper said. Next, crews will remove the debris from the two towers and recycle all of the steel. Saturday's toppling cost about $500,000 alone.

The site could be used for future launch missions, and removing the old improvements will make the site more attractive to other tenants, Hooper said.

NASA built launch pad 36A in 1961. Two years later, construction began on pad 36B. It sent many historic missions, including Surveyor, Mariner, Pioneer and Intelsat, to the moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

In 1989, NASA transferred Complex 36 to the Air Force for military and commercial space operations, which used it until Feb. 3, 2005.

In all, 145 major launches were sent up from the two pads.

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