Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site 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 the ...

that consists of two separate launch pads. Space Launch Complex 3 East (SLC-3E) was used by the

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

before it was decommissioned in August 2021 with the final launch taking place on November 10, 2022, at 09:49, while Space Launch Complex 3 West (SLC-3W) has been demolished. Launches from Vandenberg fly southward, allowing payloads to be placed in high-inclination orbits such as

polar Polar may refer to: Geography * Geographical pole, either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface ** Polar climate, the climate common in polar regions ** Polar regions of Earth, locations within the polar circ ...

Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

, which allow full global coverage on a regular basis and are often used for

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

Earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biosphere, biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote sensing, remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or throu ...

, and

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s. These orbits are difficult to reach from

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

, where launches must fly eastward due to major population centers to both the north and south of

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

. Avoiding these would require hugely inefficient maneuvering, greatly reducing payload capacity. SLC-3E was the launch site of the Mars lander ''

InSight Insight is the understanding of a specific causality, cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of se ...

'' in May 2018.

SLC-3E

VAFB Space Launch Complex-3 East Atlas V 2008-03-12

History

One of two

Atlas-Agena The Atlas-Agena was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas family of rockets, and was launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978. It was used to launch the first ...

pads at VAFB, SLC-3E was originally the designated facility for

MIDAS Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...

(Missile Defense Alarm System) launches and hosted its first flight on July 12, 1961. After the MIDAS program ended in 1966, SLC-3E then hosted reentry vehicle tests in 1967-68 as part of Project PRIME. The pad was mothballed for a decade, then returned to use in the late 1970s for NAVSTAR communications satellites on refurbished Atlas E/F missiles. On December 19, 1981, Atlas 76E crashed a few hundred feet from the pad after an engine failure, but no serious damage resulted to facilities. SLC-3E was then converted for the Atlas H (Atlas-Centaur core with a solid upper stage in place of the Centaur) and hosted ELINT satellite launches from 1983-87. The pad was mothballed once again and not used for the next 12 years, when it was revived for the Atlas IIAS. Three successful

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-perform ...

missions were flown from SLC-3E. The first mission, flown on December 18, 1999, launched the

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...

satellite. The other two launched satellites in the

Naval Ocean Surveillance System The Naval Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) is a series of signals-intelligence satellites that have conducted electronic signals intelligence for the U.S. Navy since the early 1970s. The first series of satellites were codenamed "Whit ...

, USA 160 and USA 173. The final Atlas IIAS mission from SLC-3E was launched on December 2, 2003. It was reported in 2003 that SLC-3E would be overhauled to serve as a launch platform for the

. Renovations of SLC-3E began after a January 2004 ground breaking ceremony. Along with other work, the Mobile Service Tower roof was raised by approximately to a height of to accommodate an Atlas V 500 series vehicle with its larger payload fairing. In July 2004,

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

announced the arrival of the fourth and final segment of the fixed launch platform (FLP). The segments had been transported from a fabrication facility in Oak Hill, FL, away. The largest segment weighed 90 tons and was "thought to be the biggest over-the-road shipment ever attempted cross-country." In February 2005, the activation team handed over the launch pad to the operational team, marking the end of major reconstruction. The first Atlas V launch from SLC-3E took place at 10:02 GMT on March 13, 2008.

United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets ...

(ULA) inherited the pad in December 2006 when the company was formed as the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, and continued to use it to fly Atlas V rockets. In October 2015 ULA announced that the pad would be updated to accommodate the upcoming

Vulcan Centaur Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle consisting of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur second stage. Replacing ULA's Atlas V and Del ...

rocket, with the pad then being able to launch either Atlas V or Vulcan. The final Atlas V launch from the pad took place on November 10, 2022, carrying the JPSS-2 satellite. The first flight of Vulcan from SLC-3E was anticipated to be in 2023, but Vulcan has been delayed and the first flight from SLC-3E is now expected in 2025. Conversion work to support Vulcan Centaur is ongoing and completion is expected in 2025.

Launch history (3E)

SLC-3W

SpaceX Falcon vertical on the launch pad

SLC-3W was originally built for Atlas-Agena launches and the first flight off the pad was the launch of Samos 1 on October 11, 1960. The facility was extensively damaged 11 months later when Samos 3's booster exploded on the pad, but it was repaired quickly and hosted its next launch slightly under two months afterwards. In 1962-63, the pad was converted for Thor-Agena use and was the primary launching site for Corona reconnaissance satellites for the next decade. After the Corona program ended in 1972, SLC-3W was converted back to support Atlases, this time flights of refurbished Atlas E/F missiles. The final such launch took place in 1995.

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

initially planned to use SLC-3W for the

Falcon 1 Falcon 1 was a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009 by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On September 28, 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to s ...

launch vehicle but switched to

SLC-4E Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) is a launch and landing site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, U.S. It has two pads, both of which are used by SpaceX for Falcon 9, one for launch operations, and the other as Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) for S ...

with

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

.Federal Register /Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008
Proposed Rules
page 77579.

Launch history (3W)

References

External links

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Napa and Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3 Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch complexes of the United States Space Force Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Historic American Engineering Record in California 1960 establishments in California