Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6

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Space Launch Complex 6
Space Shuttle Enterprise Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6.jpg
Coordinates 34 ° 34 ′ 42 "  N , 120 ° 37 ′ 31"  W Coordinates: 34 ° 34 ′ 42 "  N , 120 ° 37 ′ 31"  W
Type Orbital Launch Site
operator United States Air Force
Launch pads 1
Missiles Athena (4 launches)
Delta IV
Titan III (planned, never carried out)
Space Shuttle (planned, never carried out)
Omega (planned)
Min. Inclination 51 °
Max. Inclination 145 °
start of building March 12, 1966
First start August 15, 1995 (Athena 1)
status active

Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6, pronounced "Slick Six") is a launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California , USA .

construction

SLC-6 is part of Vandenberg's South Base . On March 1, 1966, part of the Sudden Ranch property was expropriated and acquired by the US Air Force for nearly ten million dollars. On March 12, 1966, construction of the SLC-6 began on this site. The Titan III rocket with the manned space station Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was to be launched from this launch complex . After major parts had already been completed, the US Air Force project was discontinued on June 10, 1969 without a flight due to the high costs and delays.

Preparations for the space shuttle

In 1972 it was decided to build a western take-off and landing site for the space shuttle next to the launch site in Florida , from which it is possible to bring the shuttle into polar orbit. Extensive modifications to the launch site were necessary. The mobile service tower (MST) was rebuilt and two new fire shafts for the solid rocket boosters of the space shuttle were built. Tanks for liquid hydrogen and oxygen, a noise protection system, a water treatment system, a rescue system for the crew and a shuttle assembly building , according to the VAB in Florida, became necessary.

On October 15, 1985, the launch site was opened and officially put into operation, although further tests and construction work were required. One year after opening, on October 15, 1986, the space shuttle Discovery ( STS-62-A ) was to be launched into polar orbit with Robert Crippen as commander. Due to the Challenger disaster , however, the shuttle program was interrupted for over two years. On September 20, 1988, SLC-6 was initially shut down.

At the end of 1989 the US Air Force officially announced the end of the space shuttle program in Vandenberg. The total cost of the expenses is estimated at approximately $ 4 billion.

Another renovation

On July 6, 1990 Lockheed received an order from the US Air Force to convert the SLC-6 launch complex for the Titan 34D and Titan IV rockets. In 1994 the SLC-6 was rebuilt again. A platform for launching small rockets ( Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative , SSTI) was constructed above one of the fire shafts that were originally built for the space shuttle boosters .

On August 15, 1995, the first rocket (LMLV-1, later Athena ) was launched from the SLC-6 launch complex. Due to uncontrolled vibrations of the rocket, however, it was destroyed together with the payload, the small GemStar communications satellite . After modifications to the rocket, there was a successful launch on August 23, 1997, and the Lewis satellite was placed into orbit. Lewis was to remain in orbit for three years. Due to technical problems, however, it fell out of orbit after a short time and Lewis was destroyed when he entered the earth's atmosphere.

After another unsuccessful launch of an Athena-2 on April 27, 1999, the IKONOS satellite was brought into polar orbit on September 25, 1999 .

On June 28, 2006, a Delta IV Medium + (4.2) with a spy satellite was launched from here for the first time .

The heavy Delta IV Heavy can also take off from the SLC-6. The first launched the NROL 49 spy satellite into space on January 20, 2011.

gallery

  • SLC-6 under construction in March 1966

  • SLC-6 in 2006

  • Test with the Enterprise

  • Athena-1 missile on SLC-6

  • Launch of a Delta IV Medium + (4.2) from SLC-6

  • First launch of a Delta IV Heavy

  • Delta IV Heavy launch on August 28, 2013

Start list

As of December 31, 2019

date Time ( UTC ) Missile type serial number payload Type of payload Remarks
August 15, 1995 22:30 Athena-1 GemStar 1 Communications satellite Failure: Missile destroyed after 160 seconds.
August 23, 1997 06:51 Athena-1 LM-002 Lewis Communications satellite Successful return on September 28, 1997
April 27, 1999 6:22 pm Athena-2 LM-005 IKONOS Earth observation satellite Failure: The signal is broken after 4 minutes
September 24, 1999 6:22 pm Athena-2 LM-007 IKONOS
(originally IKONOS 2) 		Earth observation satellite
June 28, 2006 03:33 Delta IV Medium + D317 D4-6 NROL-22 Spy satellite of the NGO First Boeing take-off from Vandenberg
November 4, 2006 13:53 Delta IV medium D320 D4-7 DMSP 17 Military weather satellite in polar orbit
January 20, 2011 21:10 Delta IV Heavy D352 NROL-49 Spy satellite of the NGO
April 3, 2012 23:12 Delta IV Medium + D359 NROL-25 Spy satellite of the NGO
August 28, 2013 18:03 Delta IV Heavy D364 NROL-65 Spy satellite of the NGO
February 10, 2016 11:40:32 Delta IV Medium + (5.2) D-373 NROL-45 Reconnaissance satellite
January 12, 2018 22:10 Delta IV Medium + (5.2) D-379 NROL-47 Reconnaissance satellite
19th January 2019 18:54 Delta IV Heavy D-382 NROL-71 Reconnaissance satellite

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Northrop Grumman to launch Omega rocket from ULA's Delta 4 pad at Vandenberg . Spacenews, October 26, 2019.