Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 8

Space Launch Complex 8

A Minotaur rocket launches Streak from SLC-8.
Launch site	Vandenberg Space Force Base
Location	34°34′34″N120°37′57″W / 34.5762°N 120.6324°W / 34.5762; -120.6324
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−07:00 (PDT)
Short name	SLC-8
Operator	United States Space Force (owner) Northrop Grumman (tenant)
Launch pad(s)	1
Orbital inclination range	51° – 145°
Launch history Status Active Launches 10 First launch 27 January 2000 Minotaur I (JAWSat) Last launch 16 April 2025 Minotaur IV (NROL-174) Associated rockets Current: Minotaur I, Minotaur IV Plans cancelled: Athena I, Athena II

Launch sites at Vandenberg Space Force Base

7km
4.3miles

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  Active pads

  Active pads not used for launches

  Inactive leased pads

  Inactive unleased pads

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SLC-1E

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SLC-1W

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SLC-2E

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SLC-2W

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SLC-10E

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SLC-10W

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LC-576E

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SLC-9

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SLC-3E

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SLC-3W

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SLC-4E

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SLC-4W (LZ-4)

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SLC-5

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SLC-6

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SLC-8

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SLC-7

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SLC-11

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SLC-12

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SLC-14

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SLC-15

Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8), is a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States. It is currently only used by Minotaur rockets. It was originally part of the California Spaceport and was known as the Commercial Launch Facility (CLF) or Space Launch Facility (SLF). ^[1] In addition to supporting occasional Minotaur rockets, SLC-8 is capable of hosting small launch vehicles thanks to a new clean pad built in 2019. ^[2] Much like the Minotaur rocket family itself, SLC-8 has seen little use since the early 2010s. ^[3]

As of April 2025, ten rockets - six Minotaur I and four Minotaur IV - have been launched from SLC-8.

Pad description

SLC-8 was built in the late 1990s to support Minotaur rockets from Vandenberg, and is the southernmost launch complex at the base. It is the fourth launch site at Vandenberg to support the Minotaur family, after TP-01, SLC-576E, and LF-06. Minotaur launches from SLC-8 are controlled from the Integrated Processing Facility (IPF) at the neighboring Space Launch Complex 6, which itself was originally built for Space Shuttle payload processing. Other launches from the complex can be controlled from a new launch control center at north Vandenberg. ^[4]

Minotaur rockets are assembled and prepared for flight inside an 88-foot-tall mobile assembly gantry built around 2005. The Minotaur launch mount is rated for launch vehicles up to 150 tons in mass and one million pounds of thrust. ^[4]

The clean pad, measuring 15 by 15 feet of reinforced concrete, is available for small launch vehicles of up to 20 tons in mass and was built in 2019. Two adjacent pads were also built to host fuel and oxidizer equipment. Companies using the pad must bring their own ground support equipment. ^[2]

Launch history

Statistics

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2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2025

•   Minotaur I
•   Minotaur IV

List of launches

All flights from 2000 to 2011 operated by Orbital Sciences Corporation. All flights since 2025 operated by Northrop Grumman.

No.	Date	Time (UTC)	Launch vehicle	Payload	Result	Remarks
1	27 January 2000	03:03	Minotaur I	JAWSat	Success	Maiden flight of the Minotaur I.
2	19 July 2000	20:09	Minotaur I	MightySat II.1	Success
3	11 April 2005	13:35	Minotaur I	XSS-11	Success	Proximity test operations satellite, also known as USA-165. Satellite bus design was later used for GRAIL.
4	22 September 2005	19:24	Minotaur I	Streak	Success
5	15 April 2006	01:40	Minotaur I	COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3)	Success
6	22 April 2010	23:00	Minotaur IV	HTV-2a	Success	Suborbital launch. Part of the Falcon Project by DARPA and the Air Force, aiming to develop a hypersonic weapon. Maiden flight of the Minotaur IV. Payload later failed during test.
7	26 September 2010	04:41	Minotaur IV	SSBS	Success	Maiden orbital flight of the Minotaur IV.
8	6 February 2011	12:26	Minotaur I	NROL-66	Success	NRO launch. Rapid Pathfinder Prototype satellite for technology demonstration, also known as USA-225. First launch for the National Reconnaissance Office from SLC-8.
9	11 August 2011	14:45	Minotaur IV	HTV-2b	Success	Suborbital launch. Part of the Falcon Project by DARPA and the Air Force, aiming to develop a hypersonic weapon. Payload later failed during test.
10	16 April 2025	19:33	Minotaur IV	NROL-174	Success	NRO launch. Two unknown satellites, also known as USA-521 and USA-522. First launch from SLC-8 following Orbital's merger with Alliant Techsystems and following Orbital ATK's purchase by Northrop Grumman.

References

1. "SLC-8 Overview". Spaceport Systems International. 1999.
2. "Spaceports By State". faa.gov. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024.
3. Wade, Mark. "Vandenberg SLC8". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
4. "Spaceports By State". ccspacemuseum.org.

34°34′34″N120°37′57″W / 34.5762°N 120.6324°W / 34.5762; -120.6324