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.
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.
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) monitors meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics for the United States Department of Defense. The program is managed by the United States Space Force with on-orbit operations provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The mission of the satellites was revealed in March 1973. They provide cloud cover imagery from polar orbits that are Sun-synchronous at nominal altitude of 830 km (520 mi).
Minotaur-C, formerly known as Taurus or Taurus XL, is a four stage solid fueled launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences and launched from SLC-576E at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. It is based on the air-launched Pegasus rocket from the same manufacturer, utilizing a "zeroth stage" in place of an airplane. The Minotaur-C is able to carry a maximum payload of around 1458 kg into a low Earth orbit (LEO).
Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base that consists of two separate launch pads. SLC-3E (East) 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 SLC-3W (West) has been demolished.
The Minotaur is a family of United States solid-fuel launch vehicles repurposed from retired Minuteman and Peacekeeper model intercontinental ballistic missiles. Built by Northrop Grumman under the Space Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program, these vehicles are used for various space and test launch missions.
Before the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station, ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by the Saturn V.
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 (CCSFS), 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 (DoD) launches, and NASA launches. For the DoD, it played a secondary role to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, but was the launch site for many NASA unmanned space probes, as those spacecraft were typically launched on military launchers.
Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas was a liquid propellant rocket burning RP-1 kerosene fuel with liquid oxygen in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "parallel staging" design: two outboard booster engines were jettisoned along with supporting structures during ascent, while the center sustainer engine, propellant tanks and other structural elements remained connected through propellant depletion and engine shutdown.
Space Launch Complex 10 (SLC-10), or Missile Launch Complex 10, is located on Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California. It was built in 1958 to test ballistic missiles and developed into a space launching facility in 1963. Prior to 1966, Space Launch Complex 10W (SLC-10W) was known as Vandenberg AFB Pad 75-2-6. It remains a rare pristine look at the electronics and facilities created in that era that helped the United States grow its space capabilities.
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: SLC-2E, used by the PGM-17 Thor and several of its derivatives from 1958 to 1972, and SLC-2W, which is currently used by the Firefly Alpha after historically being the west coast launch site of the Delta II.
Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Space Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying the HTV-2a Hypersonic Test Vehicle. The first orbital launch occurred on 26 September 2010 with the SBSS satellite for the United States Air Force.
Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) is a launch and landing site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, U.S. It has two pads, both of which are used by SpaceX for Falcon 9, one for launch operations, and the other as Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) for SpaceX landings.
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.
USA-205, also known as Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (STSS-ATRR), and previously as Block 2010 Spacecraft Risk Reduction is a satellite formerly operated by the United States Missile Defense Agency. It was launched to demonstrate new technology for missile detection early warning systems (MDEWS). The technology demonstrated on STSS-ATRR was used in the development of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) part of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS).
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.
