Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 3

Space Launch Complex 3
The mobile service tower at SLC-3E rolls back prior to the launch of InSight in May 2018
Launch site Vandenberg AFB
Location 34.6423°N
120.5885°W
Short name SLC-3
Operator US Air Force
Total launches 124
Launch pad(s) 2
Min / max
orbital inclination		 51° – 145°
SLC-3W (PALC-1-1) launch history
Status Demolished
Launches 81
First launch October 11, 1960
Atlas-Agena / Samos 1
Last launch March 24, 1995
Atlas-E/F / USA-109
Associated
rockets
SLC-3E (PALC-1-2) launch history
Status Active
Launches 43
First launch July 12, 1961
Atlas-Agena / Midas 3
Last launch May 05, 2018
Atlas V / InSight
Associated
rockets

Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base that has been used by Atlas and Thor rockets. It was built in the early 1960s and consists of two pads, SLC-3E (East) and SLC-3W (West). The East-West coastline at Vandenberg allows SLC-3 to launch over-ocean polar trajectories that avoid landfall until passing over Antarctica. By contrast, Cape Canaveral has a North-South coastline permitting over-ocean launches into standard orbits.

Launch history

Rocket configuration (3W)

1
2
3
4
5
6
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995

Rocket configuration (3E)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
'18

SLC-3E

The first Atlas V to launch from the West Coast at SLC-3E

One of two Atlas-Agena pads at VAFB, SLC-3E was originally the designated facility for MIDAS (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; 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 then 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 missions were flown from SLC-3E. The first mission, flown on December 18, 1999, launched the Terra satellite.[1] The other two launched satellites in the Naval Ocean Surveillance System, USA 160 and USA 173.[2][3] The final Atlas IIAS mission from SLC-3E was launched on December 2, 2003.[4]

It was reported in 2003 that SLC-3E would be overhauled to serve as a launch platform for the Atlas V.[5] Renovations of SLC-3E, which began after a January 2004 ground breaking ceremony, included raising the Mobile Service Tower roof by approximately 30 ft (9.1 m), to a height of 239 ft (73 m). The tower can thus accommodate an Atlas V 500 series vehicle with its larger payload fairing.[6] In July 2004 Lockheed Martin 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, 3,500 miles (5,600 km) away. The largest segment weighed 90 tons and, "is thought to be the biggest over-the-road shipment ever attempted cross-country."[7] In February 2005 the activations team handed over the launch pad to the operational team, marking the end of major reconstruction.[8] The first Atlas V launch from SLC-3E took place at 10:02 GMT on March 13, 2008.[9]

SLC-3W

Falcon 1 on Pad 3W.

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 initially planned to use SLC-3W for the Falcon 1 launch vehicle but switched to SLC-4E with Falcon 9.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ NASA – NSSDC – Spacecraft – Details. NASA.
  2. ↑ NASA – NSSDC – Spacecraft – Details. NASA.
  3. ↑ NASA – NSSDC – Spacecraft – Details. NASA.
  4. ↑ "ILS Successfully Launches Atlas IIAS with NRO Payload". International Launch Services. December 2, 2003. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  5. ↑ Justin Ray (December 4, 2003). "Vandenberg's Atlas Launchpad Getting Extensive Facelift".
  6. ↑ "Lockheed Martin Begins Atlas V West Coast Launch Pad Renovations SLC 3E Being Readied for Atlas V Missions in Fall 2005". LM. January 14, 2004. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Lockheed Martin Marks Major Milestone At West Coast Atlas V Launch Pad". PR Newswire. July 27, 2004.
  8. ↑ "LOCKHEED MARTIN DELIVERS FIRST ATLAS FIVE BOOSTER TO WEST COAST LAUNCH SITE". Lockheed Martin. February 11, 2005. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Rocket Lifts Off With Secret Satellite". Associated Press.
  10. ↑ Federal Register /Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / Proposed Rules, page 77579.

Coordinates: 34°38′35″N 120°35′19″W / 34.6429885°N 120.5885124°W / 34.6429885; -120.5885124

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