Space shuttle enterprise vafb full#
On February 1, 1965, Vandenberg's AFWTR was given full responsibility for ICBM and space support functions, previously assigned to the Navy's Pacific Missile Range. Today, SLC-6 is used by commercial space launch firms and for launches of the new Delta IV EELV booster. Persistent site technical problems, however, and a joint decision by the Air Force and NASA to consolidate Shuttle operations at Cape Canaveral in Florida, following the Challenger tragedy in 1986, resulted in the official termination of the Shuttle program at Vandenberg on December 26, 1989. Three years later, in June 1969, the project was canceled, the victim of cost overruns, completion delays, and emerging new technologies.Īfter nearly a decade of abandonment, SLC-6 was reactivated and underwent an estimated $4 billion modification program in preparation for the Space Shuttle, beginning in January 1979. The land for the new facility was obtained by an eminent domain purchase of the adjacent 15,000 acre Sudden Ranch at a cost of $9,842,700. Construction work for MOL began at Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) in March 1966. By April 1996, 1,721 orbital and ballistic missiles had lifted off from Vandenberg AFB.īy far, the most ambitious Air Force endeavors at Vandenberg were the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) and the Space Shuttle programs. In subsequent years, other launch vehicles followed including the Peacekeeper (MX) ICBM beginning in June 1983, the Titan IV space booster in March 1991, the air-launched Pegasus booster in April 1995, and most recently the Delta II commercial space booster in February 1996. More importantly, the solid-propellant, three-stage Minuteman ICBM was under development and began flight tests at Vandenberg in September 1962. In 1961, the Titan I entered the inventory at Vandenberg AFB, but a more advanced version with storable propellants, all inertial guidance, and in-silo launch capability-the Titan II-was already The following month, equipped with a nuclear warhead, Vandenberg became the site of the first ICBM to be placed on alert in the United States. The Atlas made its debut West Coast flight on September 9. Two months later on February 28, 1959, the world's first polar orbiting satellite, Discoverer I, lifted into space from a Thor/Agena booster combination. The first missile launch from Vandenberg AFB was a Thor IRBM on December 16, 1958.
Vandenberg, the Air Force's second Chief of Staff. On October 4, 1958, Cooke AFB was renamed Vandenberg AFB in honor of the late General Hoyt S. Although the mission at Cooke was now divided between ARDC and SAC, the two commands cultivated a close relationship that was to flourish for the next 35 years. Space launches were to be conducted jointly by both commands. Site activation, and research and development testing of ballistic missiles remained with ARDC. It transferred management responsibilities for Cooke AFB from Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) on January 1, 1958. The United States Air Force responded to Russian Sputnik launch in October 1957 by accelerating the development of its missile program. Ground breaking for the missile base came in May 1957. Two months later the first Air Force unit, the 6591st Support Squadron, was established at Cooke. In November 1956 the Secretary of Defense transferred North Camp Cooke to the Air Force. Camp Cooke's remote location, with a southern-facing shore, offered a unique location for such activities. It was mothballed again in February 1953.īy 1955 the US Air Force identified an urgent need for a secure launch site for long-range ballistic missile tests to targets in the Pacific Ocean and space launches into polar orbit. The main camp was inactivated in June 1946, then reactivated in August 1950 for armored training during the Korean War.
Five armored divisions and numerous other units trained their during the second world war. With its flat plateau, surrounding hills, numerous nearby canyons, and relative remoteness from populated areas, the Army was convinced that it had found an ideal location for armored division training.
The Army purchased approximately 86,000 acres of land in March 1941.
Vandenberg began as the US Army's Camp Cooke before World War II. It is used for launches of unmanned government and commercial satellites into polar orbit and intercontinental ballistic missile test launches toward the Kwajalein Atoll.įirst Launch. Vandenberg Air Force Base is located on the Central Coast of California about 240 km northwest of Los Angeles.
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