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 crewed spaceflight role that was left over from the canceled MOL/Titan program. 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. 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). There was also the Point Arguello LORAN station, deestablished December 31, 1979. In addition to the ranch, the Point Arguello lighthouse was based there, which in 1967 was replaced by an automated light. Air Force in the mid-1960s under the law of eminent domain. SLC-6, part of Vandenberg's "South Base," was originally part of the Sudden Ranch, prior to its purchase by the U.S. Avoiding these would require major inefficient maneuvering, greatly reducing payload capacity. These orbits are difficult to reach from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where launches must fly eastward due to major population centers to both the north and south of Kennedy Space Center.
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Launches from Vandenberg fly southward, allowing payloads to be placed in high-inclination orbits such as polar or Sun-synchronous orbit, which allow full global coverage on a regular basis and are often used for weather, Earth observation, and reconnaissance satellites. On April 24, 2023, SLD 30 announced that they had leased SLC-6 to SpaceX. The pad sat vacant for a few months after the launch of NROL-91 on September 24, 2022. The pad was subsequently used for several Athena rocket launches before being modified to support the Delta IV launch vehicle family, which used the pad since 2006. The complex was later rebuilt to serve as the west coast launch site for the Space Shuttle, but went unused due to budget, safety and political considerations. The site was originally developed for Titan IIIM rockets and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, but these were cancelled before construction of SLC-6 was complete. In the aftermath, the space-shuttle program was grounded until Discovery returned to space in July 2005, amid concerns that the problems that had downed Columbia had not yet been fully solved.Space Launch Complex 6 ( SLC-6, pronounced "Slick Six") at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is a launch pad and support area. In subsequent years, the space shuttle carried out numerous important missions, such as the repair and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction and manning of the International Space Station.Ī tragedy in space again rocked the nation on February 1, 2003, when Columbia, on its 28th mission, disintegrated during re-entry of the earth’s atmosphere. In September 1988, space shuttle flights resumed with the successful launching of the Discovery. On January 28, 1986, NASA and the space shuttle program suffered a major setback when the Challenger exploded 74 seconds after takeoff and all seven people aboard were killed. Early shuttles took satellite equipment into space and carried out various scientific experiments. When the mission was completed, the shuttle fired engines to reduce speed and, after descending through the atmosphere, landed like a glider. Launched by two solid-rocket boosters and an external tank, only the aircraft-like shuttle entered into orbit around Earth. Regular flights of the space shuttle began on April 12, 1981, with the launching of Columbia. In 1977, the Enterprise became the first space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height of 25,000 feet by a Boeing 747 airplane and then released, gliding back to Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord. Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10 billion and took nearly a decade. On September 17, 1976, NASA publicly unveiled its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Young, the Columbia undertook a 54-hour space flight of 36 orbits before successfully touching down at California’s Edwards Air Force Base on April 14. The space shuttle Columbia is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, becoming the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space.
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