The 2nd Space Launch Squadron is an active
United States Space Force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the Space force, space service branch of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only inde ...
unit. It is located at
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...
, California, and was reactivated in July 2019 with the merger of the
4th Space Launch Squadron
The United States Air Force's 4th Space Launch Squadron was a space launch unit located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was active at Vandenberg from 1994 to 1998 and again from 2003 to 2019. It launched various satellites into or ...
and the
1st Air and Space Test Squadron
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
* World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
.
History
When founded, the two launch squadrons at
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
divided launch duties, with the
4th Space Launch Squadron
The United States Air Force's 4th Space Launch Squadron was a space launch unit located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was active at Vandenberg from 1994 to 1998 and again from 2003 to 2019. It launched various satellites into or ...
working with Titan II and Titan IV vehicles while the 2nd worked with
Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 v ...
,
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...
, and other launch vehicles. On 18 May 1998, the two squadrons merged into the 2nd SLS. The merged squadron was responsible for all launch operations at Vandenberg AFB. The reason for the merger was the similarity in missions performed by both units. It was inactivated after the last
Titan IV
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air For ...
launch. In June 2019 the 4th Space Launch Squadron and the 1st Air and Space Test Squadron merged and reactivated as the 2nd Space Launch Squadron. The reestablished unit took on all the missions of both the 1st Air and Space Test Squadron and the 4th Space Launch Squadron. the 2nd Space Launch Squadron was one of only two space launch squadrons in the U.S. Air Force. the other being the 5th Space launch Squadron at Cape Canaveral.
Both space launch squadrons are now part of the U.S. Space Force.
Lineage
* Constituted as the 2d Space Launch Squadron on 11 September 1990
: Activated on 1 October 1990
[Lineage, including assignments, decorations and stations, through 1995 in Endicott, p. 330]
: Inactivated on 31 October 2005
[Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, October 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL]
: Activated on 1 June 2019
Assignments
*
Western Space and Missile Center
Space Launch Delta 30 (SLD 30) is a United States Space Force space launch delta assigned to Space Systems Command and headquartered at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The Space Launch Delta 30 is responsible for all space launch opera ...
, 1 October 1990
*
30th Operations Group
The 30th Operations Group (30 OG) was a group of the United States Space Force. It was assigned to the 30th Space Wing, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was responsible for all space launch operations from the West Coast o ...
, 19 November 1991
[
* ]30th Launch Group
The 30th Launch Group was a United States Air Force unit, and was assigned to the 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg AFB, California.
Overview
The 30th Launch Group was responsible for booster and satellite technical oversight and launch processing act ...
, 1 December 2003 - 31 October 2005[
* ]30th Operations Group
The 30th Operations Group (30 OG) was a group of the United States Space Force. It was assigned to the 30th Space Wing, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was responsible for all space launch operations from the West Coast o ...
, 1 June 2019
Stations
*Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
, California, 1 October 1990 – 31 October 2005;[ 1 June 2019 - present
]
Aircraft and missiles
*Atlas E
The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dyna ...
*Atlas IIAS
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. The Atlas II was a direct evolution of the Atlas I, featuring longer first stage tanks, higher-performing engines ...
*Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 v ...
*Titan IV
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air For ...
*Titan II
The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space la ...
, 1 October 1990 – 2005
Decorations
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...
* 1 November 1991 - 30 September 1993[
]
List of commanders
* Lt Col Clinton Crosier
Clinton E. Crosier is a retired United States Air Force major general who last served as director of space force planning in the Office of the Chief of Space Operations. After retiring, he was hired to lead Amazon Web Services' new Aerospac ...
, July 2001–July 2003
* Lt Col David D. Thompson, June 2002–July 2004
* Lt Col Brian Chatman, 25 June 2019
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Vandenberg Air Force Base
{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Space Launch Squadron
Squadrons of the United States Space Force