Vandenberg Launch Facility 3

Last updated
Launch Facility 03
Vandenberg Launch Facility 3
Location 34°50′46″N120°34′52″W / 34.846050°N 120.581012°W / 34.846050; -120.581012
Short nameLF-03
Operator United States Army
Launch pad(s)1
Launch history
StatusActive
Associated
rockets
Minuteman, Ground-Based Interceptor

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 03 (LF-03) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series. In the 2000s the silo was remodeled into a launch site for an Interceptor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System. [1]


See also

Vandenberg AFB Launch Facility 02

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIM-10 Bomarc</span> Long-range surface-to-air missile

The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North America. In addition to being the first operational long-range SAM and the first operational pulse doppler aviation radar, it was the only SAM deployed by the United States Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vandenberg Space Force Base</span> United States Space Force Base near Los Angeles

Vandenberg Space Force Base, previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground-Based Midcourse Defense</span> United States anti-ballistic missile defense for intercepting warheads in space

Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), previously National Missile Defense (NMD), is an anti-ballistic missile system implemented by the United States of America for defense against ballistic missiles, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile defense strategy to counter ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maui Space Surveillance Complex</span> Observatory in Hawaii

The Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC) is a U.S. Space Force operating location for the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Haleakala Observatory on Maui, Hawaii, with a twofold mission. First, it conducts the research and development mission on the Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS) at the MSSC. Second, it oversees operation of the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC). AFRL's research and development mission on Maui was formally called Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS) and the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory; the use of the term AMOS has been widespread throughout the technical community for over thirty years and is still used today at many technical conferences. The main-belt asteroid 8721 AMOS is named after the project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobra Dane</span> US radar installation for monitoring Soviet missile tests

The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE is a PESA phased array radar installation operated by Raytheon for the United States Space Force at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The system was built in 1976 and brought online in 1977 for the primary mission of gathering intelligence about Russia's ICBM program in support of verification of the SALT II arms limitation treaty. Its single face 29 m (95 ft) diameter phased array radar antenna 52.7373°N 174.0914°E faces the Kamchatka Peninsula and Russia's Kura Test Range. COBRA DANE operates in the 1215–1400 MHz band and can track items as small as a basketball sized drone at distances of several hundred miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 2</span> Rocket launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in the USA

Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) is an active rocket launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, USA. It consists of two launch pads. The East pad was used for Delta, Thor-Agena and Thorad launches between 1966 and 1972 and has been demolished. The West pad was used for Delta, Thor-Agena and Delta II launches from 1966 until 2018, when the Delta II performed its last flight.

The Space Tracking and Surveillance System was a pair of satellites developed by the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to research the space-based detection and tracking of ballistic missiles. Data from STSS satellites could allow interceptors to engage incoming missiles earlier in flight than would be possible with other missile detection systems. The STSS program began in 2001, when the "SBIRS Low" program was transferred to MDA from the United States Air Force. In December 2002, SBIRS Low Research & Development was renamed Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vandenberg Launch Complex 576</span>

Launch Complex 576 is a group of rocket launch pads at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The pads were used from 1959 until 1971 to launch SM-65 Atlas missiles. The site was also known as Complex ABRES. Pads in Area 576 include 576A-1, 576A-2 and 576A-3, 576B-1, 576B-2 and 576B-3, 576-C, 576-D, 576-E, OSTF-1 and OSTF-2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">395th Strategic Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 395th Tactical Missile Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It has not been active under that name.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 02 (LF-02) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman and Peacekeeper missile series. In the 2000s the silo was remodeled into a launch site for an Interceptor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 04 (LC-04) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch facility on Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA. It is a launch site for the land-based LGM-30 Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 05 (LC-05) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 06 (LC-06) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based LGM-30 Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 07 (LC-07) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 08 (LC-08) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 09 (LC-09) is a US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It is a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 10 (LC-10) is a US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It is a launch site for the land-based LGM-30 Minuteman ICBMs.

Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch Facility 21 (LF-21) is a former US Air Force Intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility on Vandenberg SFB, California, USA. It was a launch site for the land-based Minuteman missile series. In the 2000s the silo was remodeled into a launch site for an Interceptor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100th Missile Defense Brigade</span> U.S. Army National Guard brigade

100th Missile Defense Brigade, known as 100th MDB (GMD), is a multi-component United States Army National Guard brigade headquartered at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. It has component formations located in Fort Greely, Alaska, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and Fort Drum, New York manned by national guardsmen of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, 100th MDB, Detachment 1, and 100th MDB, Detachment 2 in Alaska, California, and New York, respectively, on a round-the-clock 24/7/365 basis. 100th MDB (GMD) is part of the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Launch Complex 576A, also known as Area 576, is a group of rocket launch pads at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The pads at the complex were used from 1959 until 1971 to launch SM-65 Atlas missiles. The site was also known as Complex ABRES. Pads in Area 576A include 576-A-1,2,3

References

  1. "Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) - Initial Defensive Operations Capability (IDOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-05.

34°50′46″N120°34′51″W / 34.8460°N 120.5809°W / 34.8460; -120.5809