Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base
Characteristics
ICAO code	KVBG
IATA code	VBG
Coordinates	34 ° 44 '14 " N , 120 ° 35' 4" W Coordinates: 34 ° 44 '14 " N , 120 ° 35' 4" W.
Height above MSL	112 m (367 ft )
Transport links
Street	US 101 / CA 1
Start-and runway
12/30	4572 m × 61 m concrete

Launch of a Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile in Vandenberg

The Vandenberg Air Force Base ( VAFB ) is an air base of the US Air Force , and means the US Space Force . It stretches for about 40 kilometers along the California Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco and serves exclusively as a rocket launch site . The spaceport is also used for NASA civil launches and commercial satellites . The first launch took place on February 28, 1959, during which the Earth satellite Discoverer 1 was placed in polar Earth orbit . The VAFB is named after General Hoyt S. Vandenberg .

General

Vandenberg is the third rocket launch site in the United States , along with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (close to, but not identical to, the Kennedy Space Center ) and Wallops Flight Facility . It was built because satellites with an orbit inclination of more than 56 degrees could not be launched from Cape Canaveral on the east coast because the rockets no longer had to fly over the sea, but over the mainland. So they looked around for a location for another base that is suitable for polar orbits and sun-synchronous orbits. From Vandenberg the start is going south, in an azimuth range of 158 ° to 201 °. This results in possible orbital inclinations of 70 ° to 104 °.

There are a total of 50 launch ramps in Vandenberg; half of it consists of silos for underground launches.

history

Camp Cooke

Camp Cooke (1941-1953) was an American training camp . In 1941 the United States Army needed more and better training facilities for the quick and better development of its infantry forces. In March 1941 the United States Army opened up a site with 86,000 km² of farmland along the California coast between Lompoc and Santa Maria . Much of the land was purchased, and smaller pieces were also leased, leased or expropriated. Because of its flat plateaus, the surrounding forests, the many canyons and the remoteness, the United States Army was sure to have found a suitable place for their purposes.

The warehouse

Construction of the army camp began in September 1941. The United States Army put this camp into operation months before its actual completion on October 5, 1941. It was named Camp Cooke in honor of Major General Phillip St. George Cooke . Although the camp was not fully completed until 1942, training had already started there. The 5th American Armored Division was transferred to the camp in February and March.

Besides the

5th Armored Division
6th Armored Division
11th Armored Division
13th Armored Division
20th Armored Division
86th Infantery Division
97th Infantery Division

and the 2nd Philippine Infantry Regiment, many units went through this training station. A total of over 400 different units passed through Camp Cooke before being shipped to Europe or Asia.

The prisoner of war camp

During the war, German and Italian prisoners of war were imprisoned at Camp Cooke . Both groups were kept separately in accordance with the Geneva Conventions . They were u. a. Assigned to work at the post office, clergy, agriculture and maintenance.

The prison

In 1946, a maximum security wing for the United States Army was set up on the site . Military prisoners from all parts of the army were held there. When Camp Cooke was closed in June 1946, the supervisory staff were also required to maintain the entire facility. Almost the entire area was leased as arable and pasture land.

The Korean War camp

With the outbreak of the Korean War , the camp was reactivated. From August 1950 to February 1953, Camp Cooke served as a training camp for units entering the Korean War and as a summer training camp for reserve units. On February 1, 1953, the camp was closed again. The military prison was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1959 . Today it is known as the "United States Penitentiary" in Lompoc .

Cooke Air Force Base

On June 16, 1956, the US Air Force received a portion of Camp Cooke from the US Department of Defense and named it Cooke Air Force Base . On 1 July 1957, the 704th Strategic Missile Wing as the first US missile unit was with intercontinental ballistic missiles ready for use. On 4 October 1958, the Cooke AFB was named in honor of General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in Vandenberg AFB renamed.

The first missile in Vandenberg, a Thor medium-range missile ( English I ntermediate R is B allistic M issile , IRBM ), was started on 16 December 1958th Two months later, on February 28, 1959, a Thor / Agena rocket launched the Discoverer 1 satellite , the first satellite to orbit the earth in a polar orbit.

The first start of an Atlas missile was on September 9, 1959. This was followed by numerous Atlas Agena missiles, among others as part of the Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS). 1961 followed by the launch of titanium I- and later by titanium II (engl. -Interkontinentalraketen I nter C ontinental B allistic M issile , ICBM ).

First launch of a Delta IV Heavy from SLC-6

With the acquisition of the two atolls Eniwetok and Kwajalein , the launch area was expanded on July 1, 1960 in the Pacific (Pacific Missile Range) and used to support the VAFB.

On August 10, 1960, a Thor / Agena-A rocket was launched with the Discoverer 13 satellite . A day later, a capsule was dropped and returned to Earth. This mission was the first time a missile was recovered from orbit in the Pacific.

On May 3, 1961, a Titan-I rocket was launched underground from a silo on the VAFB for the first time .

On September 28, 1962, the first flight tests started with the solid - propelled Minuteman I ICBM missiles.

The communications satellite Echo 2 launched the NASA on January 25, 1964, a Thor-Agena B rocket . During this mission a radio link was established from England to the USSR . This was the first cooperation in space exploration between the Soviet Union and the USA.

In June 1983 the Peacekeeper (MX) ICBM, the Titan IV in March 1991, the Pegasus in April 1995 and the Delta rockets in February 1996 followed.

On July 1, 1964, the Point Arguello naval area to the south was incorporated into Vandenberg AFB. This also included the launch facilities there, which were given new names in 1966.

In the years 1966 to 1969 the US Air Force developed a manned space laboratory ( Manned Orbiting Laboratory , MOL) at the launch complex VAFB SLC-6 , which was supposed to use a Titan III rocket to put a Gemini-B spacecraft converted into a space laboratory into orbit . For financial reasons, however, this project was discontinued without a start by the then President Nixon .

In January 1979, the SLC-6 launch complex was converted for about $ 4 billion for the space shuttle program . In contrast to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the location of the launch facility also allowed polar orbits to be reached. The launch system was completed to such an extent that the space shuttle Enterprise, together with an external tank and two solid rocket rockets, was on the launch pad for test purposes. Due to the Challenger disaster , the project was canceled, so that there was no space shuttle launch from Vandenberg.

In the meantime, the SLC-6 has been rebuilt for the Delta IV and is now in operation.

There is a memorial on the grounds to commemorate the ship disaster at Honda Point on September 8, 1923, the United States Navy's greatest peacetime ship loss .

Launch ramps

Launch pad rocket types	Type	Starting places	Years of operation	Remarks
Bomarc Complex Bomarc		2	1966-1982
Launch Complex 395 (LC-395) Titan I, Titan II	silo	6th	1961-1976
Launch Complex 576 (LC-576) Atlas D, Atlas E, Atlas F, Taurus		11	since 1957
Launch Complex 4300 (LC-4300) Blue Scout Junior, Thor Burner		2	1963-1967
Launch Complex A (LC-A) Asp, Astrobee, Black Brant, Dac Roc, Honest John, Javelin, Journeyman Scout, Seagull	Sounding rocket launch site	1	1959-1966	on former territory of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello
Launch Complex B (LC-B) Astrobee, Cajun, Deacon, Hopi, Terrier, Viper	Sounding rocket launch site	1	1960-1963	on former territory of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello
Launch Emplacement 8 (LE-8) Thor DM-18		1	1959-1962
Launch Facility 02 (LF-02) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3, Peacekeeper	silo	1	since 1963
Launch Facility 03 (LF-03) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minotaur 2	silo	1	since 1963
Launch Facility 04 (LF-04) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1962
Launch Facility 05 (LF-05) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3, Peacekeeper	silo	1	since 1962
Launch Facility 06 (LF-06) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 3, Minotaur 2	silo	1	since 1963
Launch Facility 07 (LF-07) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2	silo	1	since 1963
Launch Facility 08 (LF-08) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3, Peacekeeper, Astrid	silo	1	since 1963
Launch Facility 09 (LF-09) Minuteman 1, Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1964
Launch Facility 10 (LF-10) Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1987
Launch Facility 21 (LF-21) Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3, Orbus	silo	1	since 1965
Launch Facility 22 (LF-22) Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1965
Launch Facility 23 (LF-23) Minuteman 2, Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV)	silo	1	since 1966
Launch Facility 24 (LF-24) Minuteman 2	silo	1	since 1965
Launch Facility 25 (LF-25) Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1966
Launch Facility 26 (LF-26) Minuteman 2, Minuteman 3	silo	1	since 1966
Operational Suitability Test Facility Titan 1	silo	0	never active	destroyed in test in 1960
Probe Launch Complex C (PLC-C) Aerobee 170, Tomahawk Sandia	Sounding rocket launch site	1	since 1971	on the former area of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello , then designation LC-C
Silo Launch Test Facility Titan 1	silo	1	1961
Space Launch Complex 1 (SLC-1) Thorad Agena D SLV-2G, Thorad Agena D SLV-2H	Orbital Launch Site	2	1959-1971
Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) Delta, Thor Agena D, Thorad Agena D, Firefly Alpha (planned)	Orbital Launch Site	2	since 1966
Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) Atlas E, Atlas F, Atlas H, Atlas IIAS, Atlas / Agena D, Thor Agena D, Thorad Agena D, Atlas V, Vulcan (planned)	Orbital Launch Site	2	since 1960	on the former area of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello , then designation LC-1-1 and LC-1-2
Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) Atlas Agena D, Titan 2, Titan 34, Titan 3, Titan 4, Falcon 9, and in future also Falcon Heavy	Orbital Launch Site	2	since 1964	on the former area of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello , then designation LC-2-3 and LC-2-4
Space Launch Complex 5 (SLC-5) Scout A, Scout B, Scout D, Scout F, Scout G	Orbital Launch Site	1	1962-1994	on the former area of the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello , then designation LC-D
Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) Athena-1, Athena-2, Delta IV Medium (all variants), Delta IV Heavy	Orbital Launch Site	1	since 1995	Created for manned spaceflight in the 1960s and 1970s, but never used
Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8) Minotaur	Orbital Launch Site	1	since 2000
Space Launch Complex 10 (SLC-10) Thor Burner, Thor DSV-2U	Orbital Launch Site	2	1959-1980	For National Historic Landmark explained
TP-01 Peacekeeper, Midgetman	silo	1	1983-1991

Space Operations Center

Since May 18, 2005, Vandenberg AFB has also housed the Joint Space Operations Center of the US Air Force. Vandenberg is also the seat of the Joint Forces Component Command (JFCC SPACE), which also plays a decisive role in the space activities of the United States Strategic Command ( see Space Weapon , National Missile Defense , National Space Policy ).

Web links

Commons : Vandenberg Air Force Base - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Homepage of the Air Force Base Vandenberg (English)
Vandenberg Air Force Base in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Vandenberg Witness (website of a peace initiative )

Individual evidence

^ NASA: Launch Sites. Accessed August 20, 2018 .
↑ [1]
^ Dwayne Day: Vandenberg Air Force Base. (No longer available online.) October 26, 2011, archived from the original on February 10, 2012 ; accessed on April 16, 2012 (English).
^ Joint Space Operations Center opens At Vandenberg

[1] NASA: Launch Sites. Accessed August 20, 2018 .

[2] [1]

[3] Dwayne Day: Vandenberg Air Force Base. (No longer available online.) October 26, 2011, archived from the original on February 10, 2012 ; accessed on April 16, 2012 (English).

[4] Joint Space Operations Center opens At Vandenberg