Vandenberg Space Force Base took a major step toward modernizing one of the nation’s most historic launch facilities on Tuesday, June 16 demolishing legacy structures at Space Launch Complex-6 to make way for next-generation launch operations.<\/p>\n
Base officials say the demolition clears infrastructure that included the Mobile Service Tower, Fixed Umbilical Tower, and Tail Service Masts. <\/p>\n
The work follows a 2025 U.S. Space Force outgrant of the complex to SpaceX and is aimed at increasing launch capacity and improving resiliency for future vehicles.<\/p>\n
“Space Launch Complex-6 represents six decades of American innovation and our unwavering commitment to securing space superiority,” Col. James T. Horne III, commander of Space Launch Delta 30, said.<\/p>\n
Construction of SLC-6 began in 1966 to support the Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory program, an ambitious effort to place military astronauts into polar orbit. <\/p>\n
That program was canceled before any launches took place. The facility was later redesigned for the Space Shuttle program and went on to support Athena and Delta IV launch operations.<\/p>\n
“To maintain our competitive edge in a dynamic space environment, we must accelerate the delivery of next-generation capabilities,” Horne said. “We are not just updating infrastructure; we are leveraging industry capabilities to field a more resilient space enterprise, ensuring the United States is prepared to protect our national interests and meet future challenges for decades to come.”<\/p>\n
Officials add that modernization effort supports broader U.S. Space Force objectives to assure reliable access to space from the West Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vandenberg Space Force Base took a major step toward modernizing one of the nation’s most historic launch facilities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-709776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}