First launch of a Boeing Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) from SLC-6 on June 27, 2006 (Official photo by Thom Baur for Boeing)

Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6, nicknamed "Slick Six") at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was a launch pad and support area designed for the launching of the Titan III in support of the cancelled Manned Orbiting Laboratory and later for the Space Shuttle, which it was never used for, due to budget and political considerations. Vandenberg Air Force Base is a base with a spaceport, located in Santa Barbara County, California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Mission The Titan IIIC is a space booster used by the United States Air Force. ... Manned Orbiting Laboratory early 1960 conceptual drawing that did not use the Gemini spacecraft. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ...

It has since been remodified to support the Delta IV family of unmanned launchers. Launches from SLC-6 fly southward into a polar orbit, not eastward as were typical launches from Florida. Delta IV evolution (US Govt) The Delta IV is a family of rockets built by Boeing IDS in a purpose-built facility in Decatur, Alabama. ... A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution. ...

Polar orbits are required for many spy satellites, since it allows for covering all global areas of the planet every 24 hours on a regular basis. However, polar orbits require more energy than a typical eastward launch, due to not benefiting from the earth's rotational speed. Achieving a polar orbit from a Florida launch site is possible, but because Kennedy Space Center has major population centers to both the north and south, polar orbit flights must fly a "dog leg" route, greatly reducing payload capacity due the extra propellant required.

History

Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex Six (SLC-6) under construction, March 1966. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

SLC-6, part of Vandenberg's "South Base," was originally part of the Sudden Ranch, prior to its purchase by the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1960s under the law of eminent domain. In addition to the ranch, the Point Arguello lighthouse was based there, which has since then been replaced by an off-shore LORAN tracker. With the purchase of the base, the Air Force started construction of the SLC-6 facility on March 12, 1966 to support launches of a modified Titan III for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). After significant construction work was completed, the MOL program was cancelled on June 10, 1969, so further work on SLC-6 stopped as the facility was placed in mothball status. Seal of the Air Force. ... Eminent domain (US), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland), compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the lawful power of the state to expropriate private property without the owners consent, either for its own use or on behalf of... Point Arguello is a launch site of the US-Airforce at 34°37′ N 120°36′ W. Point Arguello has been used since 1959 for the launch of military and sounding rockets. ... LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that use the time interval between radio signals received from three or more stations to determine the position of a ship or aircraft. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Mission The Titan IIIC is a space booster used by the United States Air Force. ... Manned Orbiting Laboratory early 1960 conceptual drawing that did not use the Gemini spacecraft. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

Space Launch Complex Six (SLC-6) in 1980. (Photo: 1369th Audiovisual Squadron, U.S. Air Force)

With plans of launching civilian and military equatorial space shuttle flights from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and military polar orbit flights from Vandenberg, NASA and the Air Force looked at different sites for launching the shuttle, finally deciding upon SLC-6, due to its dedicated manned spaceflight role that was leftover from the cancelled MOL program. Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ... NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

In 1972, Vandenberg AFB was chosen as the western launch site for Air Force shuttle launches. Use of SLC-6 was approved in 1975, and re-construction of the former MOL launch facility occurred between January 1979 and July 1986 as SLC-6 was rebuilt to accommodate the space shuttle.

There were several reasons for using SLC-6:

• Florida shuttle launches to polar orbit would have entailed a large payload penalty;
• Florida shuttle launches to polar orbit would necessitate overflying South Carolina, and the External Tank would be jettisoned and overfly Canada and Russia, and;
• Use of the existing and partially constructed Titan III facilities at SLC-6 would reduce building costs for the shuttle launch complex.

A Senate report summarized: "The Air Force originally justified the expenditure of such SLC-6 funding on the basis of a need to launch high-priority military payloads into polar orbits. After Defense Department officials testified that polar orbits could not be achieved by launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Congress initiated construction of....SLC-6." Mission The Titan IIIC is a space booster used by the United States Air Force. ...

There were significant layout differences between the shuttle launch complexes at KSC and SLC-6 at Vandenberg. KSC had the Orbiter Processing Facility, Shuttle Runway facility, Mate-Demate Device (for loading the Orbiter on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft), the Vehicle Assembly Building, and Launch Complex 39. SLC-6 consolidated the VAB (stacking) and LC-39 (launching) functions, while a processing facility, located at North Base, handled the vehicle processing, along with providing a Mate-Demate Device, and a 13,000-ft. runway for Shuttle landings. Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Schematic 3-view The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 jetliners that NASA uses to transport a space shuttle orbiter. ... The vast Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center (2005). ... Launch Complex Plan - 1963 Launch Complex 39A Launch Complex 39B with Discovery shuttle Launch Complex 39 actually refers to LC39A and LC39B at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA, which are currently launch pads for the space shuttle. ...

Downfall and Demise

Shuttle Test Article Enterprise at SLC-6 in October 1985. (Official USAF photo)

Space Shuttle Enterprise used for fit checks after re-construction of SLC-6 in 1985. (Official Lockheed Space & Missile Systems image by Bruce Fall)

The Shuttle SLC-6 was declared operational during acceptance ceremonies held on October 15, 1985. However, much additional work and testing was still required. The Space Shuttle Enterprise was used for a series of fit checks like those conducted at LC-39 in 1980. Image File history File links Orbiterenterprise-slc6. ... Image File history File links Orbiterenterprise-slc6. ... The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle built for NASA. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield and was therefore not capable of space operations; her purpose was to perform test flights in the atmosphere. ...

The inaugural polar-orbit flight, designated (STS-62A), and using Space Shuttle Discovery with Shuttle veteran Robert Crippen as commander, was planned for October 15, 1986. However, the Challenger Disaster of January 28, 1986 grounded the Shuttle fleet as efforts were concentrated on recovery and returning the program to flight after a two year hiatus. Discovery prior to docking with the International Space Station. ... Official STS-1 portrait of Robert L. Crippen, May 7, 1979 Robert Laurel Crippen (b. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... STS-51-L was the 25th launch of a Space Shuttle and the tenth launch of the Challenger. ...

On July 31, 1986 Secretary of the Air Force Edwin C. Aldridge, Jr., announced that Vandenberg's space shuttle program would be placed in "operational caretaker status," seven months after the space shuttle Challenger accident. A few months later, however, SLC-6 was placed in "minimum caretaker status" on February 20, 1987. July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Challenger may mean: Space Shuttle Challenger, the American space shuttle which broke up shortly after takeoff in 1986 Canadair Challenger series of business jets manufactured by Bombardier Challenger Equipment, AGCO Corporations division of Agricultural machinery HMS Challenger, any of eight Royal Navy ships, most notably the one carrying the... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Eventually, on May 13, 1988, Secretary Aldridge then directed the Air Force to transfer space shuttle assets at Vandenberg to other organizations (specifically, the Kennedy Space Center) by September 30, 1989, the end of the fiscal year. The work was completed 10 days early on September 20, 1989 when SLC-6 was placed in mothball status. May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Several factors accounted for this:

• The Challenger disaster highlighted that sole dependency on the shuttle was unwise;
• SLC-6 would have generated more contaminated waste water than originally envisioned, necessitating an expensive treatment plant;
• Further study showed more sound suppression water would have been needed, requiring upgraded water supply facilities;
• Vehicle icing would have been more problematic than in Florida, and it was unclear how well SLC-6 facilities would handle that;
• Blast protection of nearby occupied buildings was unsatisfactory and more construction would have been required to safeguard them;
• Post-Challenger, the more confined SLC-6 launch area raised concerns of entrapped gaseous hydrogen causing a fire or explosion;
• Large construction cost overruns;
• Independent audits found significant construction quality problems which would have been expensive to fix.

The Air Force officially terminated the space shuttle program at Vandenberg on December 26, 1989. The estimated cost for the failed program was $4 billion. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

However, just six months later on July 6, 1990, Lockheed Space Operations Company (LSOC) was awarded an Air Force ground system contract to modify SLC-6 into a Titan IV/Centaur launch complex -- essentially an uprated facility from the original MOL program that would have launched a Titan III vehicle. Site work was scheduled to begin in late fiscal year 1992, and lead to an initial launch capability sometime in fiscal year 1996. However, on March 22, 1991, HQ USAF reversed itself again by announcing the termination of the Titan IV/Centaur program at SLC-6. The reasons given for the project being canceled was due to "insufficient Titan IV launch requirements from the West Coast to support the construction of a new launch pad.". The contract with LSOC was closed out several months later. July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Rebirth and Transition

Since the shutdown of SLC-6 for the shuttle program, the U.S. Air Force reverted to flying military polar orbit satellites using the Titan 34D and later Titan IV rockets. Mission The Titan IIIC is a space booster used by the United States Air Force. ... The Titan IV family (including the IVA and IVB) of space boosters are used by the US Air Force. ...

However, the utilization of SLC-6 was far from over. In the early 1990s, Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation began studies on the prospect of a new family of small launch vehicles for commercial and other users. Lockheed eventually approved the development of the Lockheed Launch Vehicle (LLV) program in January 1993. After the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta, the renamed Lockheed-Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV) eventually would take on the moniker of Athena.

Lockheed-Martin's Athena 1 sits atop a "milkstool" platform at SLC-6, August 1997. (Official USAF photo)

After another contract was issued in 1994 by the Air Force, modification work began on the existing SLC-6 shuttle launch mount for a small "milkstool" platform to be located over one of the two exhaust ducts originally intended for one of the large solid rocket boosters. The first operational launch from SLC-6 occurred on August 15, 1995 involving the Lockheed-Martin Launch Vehicle I (LMLV-1). Unfortunately, LMLV-1 was terminated in mid-flight after uncontrolled oscillations of the rocket were detected. This resulted in the loss of the vehicle and the payload. The cause of the mishap was later determined to be a guidance system failure coupled with overheating of the booster's first stage steering mechanism. The payload on board was GEMstar 1, a small communications satellite manufactured by CTA, Inc. for the Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a non-profit organization. August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After some hardware redesign and testing, a newly rechristened Athena I successfully launched NASA's Lewis satellite into orbit from SLC-6 on August 22, 1997. Part of NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) and "Mission to Planet Earth" program, the $64.8 million satellite carried instruments to monitor pollution, the state of endangered-species habitats, soil resources, and the environmental impacts of energy pipelines. Designed to last three years, Lewis' thrusters misfired just four days after launch and went into a slow spin, its solar arrays unable to collect enough energy from the sun to charge its batteries. Within a month, it destroyed itself upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. August 22 is the 234th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (235th in leap years), with 131 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Aerial view of SLC-6 as it looks today. (Photo: U.S. Air Force and Boeing)

Another launch, on September 24, 1999 was successful as an Ikonos satellite operated by Space Imaging (later acquired by ORBIMAGE to form GeoEye) was successfully placed into a polar orbit using an Athena 2 booster. September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

However, with the advent of the Delta IV and Atlas V launch vehicles in the late 1990s, The Boeing Company received a lease from the Air Force on September 1, 1999 to modify SLC-6 once again to launch Boeing's Delta IV rocket family. Delta EELV family of launch vehicles (US Govt) The Delta IV family of rockets are EELVs (evolved expendable launch vehicles) built by Boeing IDS. They come in five versions: medium, medium+ (4,2), medium+ (5,2), medium+ (5,4), and heavy. ... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Delta IV evolution (US Govt) The Delta IV is a family of rockets built by Boeing IDS in a purpose-built facility in Decatur, Alabama. ...

Most of the Shuttle-specific components at SLC-6 were removed, such as the mobile Payload Changeout Room, but the Assembly Building, Mobile Service Tower, Launch Tower, flame deflection trenches and sound suppression system and some other shuttle-oriented equipment were retained and made compatible for the new Delta IV rocket. The launch vehicle's Common Core Booster and associated flight hardware is transported from the Boeing factory in Decatur, Ala., to Vandenberg via the Delta Mariner ship that docks just south of SLC-6 at the same location originally constructed for receiving and offloading space shuttle external tanks. Common Core Booster (CCB) is the modular liquid fuelled first stage of the Atlas V expendable launch system. ...

Redemption and Looking Forward

Boeing Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) lifts off from SLC-6. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ, 30th Communications Squadron)

Boeing developed the Delta IV class of vehicles as its entrant in the Department of Defense's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The main objective of EELV is aimed at cutting launch costs and simplifying the process of getting satellites into space. Boeing's main competitor, Lockheed Martin, has a similar class of vehicles known as the Atlas V that will make its West Coast debut in early 2007, flying from the modified Space Launch Complex-3 East on South Base. Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ...

After sitting on the pad since late 2003 and enduring technical issues with both the booster and the payload, the first of the Delta IV launch vehicles to fly from SLC-6 successfully lifted off at 8:33 p.m. PDT on June 27, 2006. June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) rocket lofted NROL-22, a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, into orbit. The payload was successfully deployed approximately 54 minutes later. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a department of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) which designs, builds and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the United States government. ...

"This first Delta IV launch from Vandenberg is an important achievement for Boeing and our NRO and Air Force customers," said Dan Collins, vice president of Boeing Launch Systems. "Today we successfully validated launching the Delta IV from SLC-6, providing the Air Force and the nation with the first operational West Coast launch site for the EELV program. With this launch, the Delta team has fulfilled all the EELV requirements outlined by the Air Force. We have a full family of launch vehicles, including a flight-proven, heavy-lift vehicle, a domestically produced first stage engine and now fully operational launch sites on both coasts."

According to a post-launch Boeing News press release, the mission was the first for the NRO aboard a Delta IV and the second aboard a Delta rocket. The first was the GeoLITE mission in 2001 aboard a Delta II.

Launch and mission planners anticipate readying SLC-6 for another Delta IV Medium vehicle that will fly a mission for the Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, DMSP-17, in late 2006. An artist’s impression showing one of the Block 5D-2 spacecraft in orbit. ...

References

• "Boeing completes first Delta IV West Coast launch - Official Boeing News press release, June 27, 2006
• "Pioneering rocket blasts into space" - Santa Maria Times, June 28, 2006
• "Delta 4 soars into orbit" - Lompoc Record, June 28, 2006
• Boeing Media Kit for Delta IV Launch of NROL-22
• GlobalSecurity.org Space Launch Complex 6
• History/Chronology of Vandenberg AFB
• Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Boeing Corporation's Delta IV Space Launch Complex Six photo gallery
• Mark Wade's Encyclopedia Astronautica
• Spotlight On: Vandenberg AFB "Guarding the High Frontier" of Space for America, December 1999 - TI#20860
• LighthouseFriends.com - Point Arguello
• Can a launch pad be cursed? – Wired News on SLC-6 trivia