Vandenberg AFB Silo Launch Test Facility

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Silo Lift Test Facility
Coordinates 34 ° 48 '25 "  N , 120 ° 32' 57"  W Coordinates: 34 ° 48 '25 "  N , 120 ° 32' 57"  W.
operator United States Air Force
Launch pads 1
Missiles Titan I.
First start May 3, 1961
Last start May 3, 1961
Total starts 1
status inactive

Vandenberg AFB Silo Lift Test Facility (SLTF) is a disused missile silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California , USA .

The launch complex was supposed to provide the United States Air Force with experience in igniting ICBMs directly in the silo and was thus the prototype for the later Titan II missile silos. The concept was based on British silo designs for the Blue Streak medium- range missile , but was modified accordingly for the larger Titan. Since the Titan II was still in the development phase at the time and was not available for test flights, a Titan I was modified for the test. The used Titan I with the designation VJ-1 was reinforced at important points of its structure in order to withstand the acoustic loads when starting in the silo. It only had an inert second stage filled with water and a likewise inert re-entry body. The launch of the rocket on May 3, 1961 was the only launch on the SLTF and the world's first launch of a rocket from a silo.

Web links

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  • David Stumpf Titan II - A History of a Cold War Missile Program . University of Arkansas Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55728-601-9 .