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.
Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: RDR, ICAO: KRDR, FAA LID: RDR) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles (26 km) west of Grand Forks.
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base that consists of two separate launch pads. Space Launch Complex 3 East (SLC-3E) was used by the Atlas V launch vehicle before it was decommissioned in August 2021 with the final launch taking place on November 10, 2022, at 09:49, while Space Launch Complex 3 West (SLC-3W) has been demolished.
Program 437 was the second anti-satellite weapons program of the U.S. military. The US anti-satellite weapons program began development in the early 1960s and was officially discontinued on 1 April 1975. Program 437 was approved for development by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on November 20, 1962, after a series of tests involving high altitude nuclear explosions. The program's facilities were located on Johnston Island, an isolated island in the north central Pacific Ocean.
Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 6 is a launch pad and associated support infrastructure at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Construction at the site began in 1966, but the first launch didn't occur until 1995 due to program cancellations and subsequent repurposing efforts.
Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17), previously designated Launch Complex 17 (LC-17), was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida used for Thor and Delta launch vehicles launches between 1958 and 2011.
Missile Row was a nickname given in the 1960s to the eight SM-65 Atlas and HGM-25A Titan I launch complexes at the middle area of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, historically used by the United States Air Force and NASA. Operated by the 45th Space Wing since 1949, it was the site of all fourteen Mercury-Atlas and Gemini launches, as well as many other early missile tests, Department of Defense launches, and NASA launches. Missile Row and Cape Canaveral played a secondary role to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for DoD launches, but it was used by many NASA launches of unmanned space probes, thanks to said spacecraft being typically launched on military vehicles.
The Thor-Burner was an American expendable launch system, a member of the Thor rocket family. It consisted of a Thor missile, with one or two Burner upper stages. It was used between 1965 and 1976 to orbit a number of satellites, most commonly Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) weather satellites. Twenty-four were launched, of which two failed. It weighed 51,810 kg and was 24 metres tall.
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: Space Launch Complex 2 East, used by the PGM-17 Thor missile and several of its derivatives from 1958 to 1972; and Space Launch Complex 2 West, which has been in use since 1959 to launch the Thor-Delta family and Delta II, and is currently used by the Firefly Alpha.
The Titan 34D was a United States expendable launch vehicle used to launch a number of satellites for military applications.
The Thor DSV-2U or Thor LV-2F Star-37XE Star-37S-ISS was an American expendable launch system used to launch five DMSP weather satellites between 1976 and 1980. It was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and a derivative of the Thor DSV-2.
Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCAS), the third-most southerly of the original launch complexes known as Missile Row, lying between LC-12 and LC-14. In 2015, the LC-13 site was leased by SpaceX and was renovated for use as Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, the company's East Coast landing location for returning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicle booster stages. It is leased by US Space Force to Phantom Space and Vaya Space who will operate this launch complex after the termination of SpaceX's lease in future.
The Titan 23G, Titan II(23)G, Titan 2(23)G or Titan II SLV was an American medium-lift launch vehicle derived from the LGM-25C Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile. Retired Titan II missiles were converted by Martin Marietta, into which the Glenn L. Martin Company, which built the original Titan II, had merged. It was used to carry payloads for the United States Air Force (USAF), NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thirteen were launched from Space Launch Complex 4W (SLC-4W) at the Vandenberg Air Force Base between 1988 and 2003.
The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex (SRMSC) was a cluster of military facilities near Nekoma, North Dakota, that supported the United States Army's Safeguard anti-ballistic missile program. The complex provided launch and control for 30 LIM-49 Spartan anti-ballistic missiles, and 70 shorter-range Sprint anti-ballistic missiles.
Space Launch Complex 1 (SLC-1) is an inactive launch complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It consists of two pads, SLC-1E and SLC-1W. Both sites were built in 1958 for the never activated 75th Strategic Missile Squadron for launches of the Thor-Agena to support the CORONA series of reconnaissance satellites for the CIA. Under the masquerade of the Discoverer program, SLC-1 served as the launch site of numerous firsts for spaceflight, such as the first satellite in polar orbit with Discoverer 2, the first recovery of an object from orbit with Discoverer 13, and the first recovery of film from orbit with Discoverer 14. SLC-1 continued to launch various spy satellites such as the KH-4 for the Department of Defense throughout the 1960s, following the transfer of vehicle operations from the CIA to the National Reconnaissance Office. During the mid-60s, as part of the phasing out of the Thor-Agena, both pads were modified to launch the succeeding Thorad-Agena throughout the end of the decade. Ultimately, thanks to the KH-4 getting replaced by the larger KH-9 and KH-11 as well as the pads' proximity to the more actively used Space Launch Complex 2, SLC-1 eventually saw the end of active service by the 1970s, and have since been disused.
