Vandenberg Launch Complex 576E
{{Short description|Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2025}}
{{Infobox launch pad|name=Launch Complex 576E|image=Taurus-2210 GFO.jpg|caption=LC-576E in February 1998, launching a Taurus carrying a United States Navy GFO|site=Vandenberg Space Force Base|location={{coord|34.7394|N|120.6192|W|display=inline,title|format=dms}}|utc_offset_DST=−07:00|utc_offset=−08:00|time_zone=PST|time_zone_DST=PDT|short=LC-576E|operator=United States Space Force (owner)
Northrop Grumman (tenant)|pads=1|inclination=55–145°|paddetails={{Infobox launch pad/pad
| status = Active
| launches = 15
| first = 1 August 1962
| first_details = SM-65F Atlas
| last = 31 October 2017
| last_details = Minotaur-C (SkySat x 6, Flock-3m x 4)
| rockets = {{plainlist|
- Current: Minotaur-C
- Retired: Atlas F
- Plans cancelled: RS1
}}
}}}}
{{Vandenberg launch pad map|highlight=4}}
Launch Complex 576E (LC-576E or SLC-576E) is a launch pad located at Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, California. Part of the ABRES series of launch complexes,{{cite web |title=Vandenberg ABRES |url=http://www.astronautix.com/sites/vanabres.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030910040931/http://astronautix.com/sites/vanabres.htm |archive-date=10 September 2003 |publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica}} the pad was originally designed and built for the launching and testing of SM-65 Atlas ICBMs as part of the Western Range, and now serves as an orbital launch site for the Minotaur-C launch vehicles.{{cite web |last=Krebs |first=Gunter |title=Taurus / Minotaur-C |url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/taurus.htm |access-date=26 May 2014}}
History
LC-576E was originally constructed by the United States Air Force in the late 1950s as part of the Complex ABRES series of launch pads, to be used in the testing of the SM-65F Atlas for the Strategic Air Command. The maiden launch from the complex was performed on August 1, 1962,{{cite web |title=ATLAS F |url=http://www.siloworld.com/MISSILE%20%20LAUNCHES/VAFB/atlas__f.htm |publisher=SiloWorld}} and further seeing three additional Atlas launches over the next two years. This era swiftly came to an end however with the retirement of the Atlas as a missile in 1965, following the wake of replacements like the LGM-25C Titan II and the LGM-30 Minuteman being introduced.{{cite web |author=Roger Guillemette |title=Atlas |url=https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/SPACEFLIGHT/Atlas/SP10.htm |access-date=March 11, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission}} Additionally, with orbital Atlas rockets from Vandenberg already being launched from SLC-3 and SLC-4, the necessity of ABRES was no longer required and the complex was deactivated.
For the following 30 years, LC-576E was mothballed and no launches would come from the site. However, winds would change in the early 1990s when the Air Force reactivated the site for Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus launch vehicle, following their earlier success with the air-launched Pegasus.{{cite web |author=Jim Kirkpatrick |title=Vandenberg Air Force Base |url=http://asuwlink.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/vandenberg.html}} The new era for LC-576E kicked off with its first orbital launch on March 13, 1994, lifting off a Taurus carrying TAOS for the Air Force and a satellite for ARPA. Three more Taurus launches from the site were made throughout the rest of the 1990s, carrying payloads for customers such as the United States Navy, the National Reconnaissance Office, and commercial customers like Orbcomm. The 2000s would prove to be a less welcoming period for Orbital and the pad, with three of the following five launches from LC-576E ending as failures, most notably with the 2009 launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7907570.stm Failure hits Nasa's 'CO2 hunter'] and the 2011 launch of their Glory satellite.{{cite news |date=2011-03-04 |title=NASA launch mishap: Satellite crashes into ocean |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-launch-mishap-satellite-crashes-into-ocean/ |publisher=CBS}} Also of note was a test launch of Orbital's Ground Based Interceptor from the site in 2003, which utilized Taurus's three upper stages as an anti-ballistic missile.{{Cite web |title=Boeing Ground-Based Interceptor |url=https://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/gbi.html |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=www.designation-systems.net}} Since 2011, the only launch made from LC-576E was on October 31, 2017, with Orbital ATK's (following Orbital's 2015 merger with Alliant Techsystems) rechristening of the Taurus as the Minotaur-C. As of the current moment, the pad is still listed as active for use by Minotaur-C, now tenanted by Northrop Grumman following their acquisition of Orbital ATK in 2018.
In the late 2010s, ABL Space Systems announced that they would be using LC-576E alongside Northrop Grumman for the launching of their RS1 rocket,{{Cite web |last=SpaceRef |date=2020-10-22 |title=ABL Space Systems performs integrated stage test of the RS1 launch vehicle |url=https://spacenews.com/abl-space-systems-performs-integrated-stage-test-of-the-rs1-launch-vehicle/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}} later complimenting launch sites leased at the Pacific Spaceport Complex, LC-15 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and SaxaVord Spaceport in the United Kingdom. However, following a failed launch and a preclusion of the RS1 at Kodiak, ABL announced in October 2024 that they would be shifting their operations towards military applications.{{Cite web |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |date=2023-01-11 |title=Start-up fails first launch as rocket explodes off Alaska's coast |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/world/abl-space-systems-satellite-launch-alaska-scn/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111003415/https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/world/abl-space-systems-satellite-launch-alaska-scn/index.html |archive-date=11 January 2023 |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=July 23, 2024 |title=ABL loses rocket after static-fire test |url=https://spacenews.com/abl-loses-rocket-after-static-fire-test/ |access-date=July 23, 2024 |work=SpaceNews}}{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |date=15 November 2024 |title=As ABL Space departs launch, the 1-ton rocket wars have a clear winner |url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/citing-decreasing-launch-opportunities-abl-space-will-pivot-to-missile-defense/ |access-date=15 November 2024 |work=Ars Technica}} The next year, they rebranded themselves as Long Wall and transformed the RS1 into the RSX, though it remains in question if the rocket will see life from LC-576E.{{Cite web |last=Erwin |first=Sandra |date=2025-02-21 |title=ABL Space renamed Long Wall as it shifts focus to defense market |url=https://spacenews.com/abl-space-renamed-long-wall-as-it-shifts-focus-to-defense-market/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}
Launch History
= Statistics =
{{ #invoke:Chart | bar chart
| float = center
| width = 700
| height = 300
| stack = 1
| group 1 = 1:1:2:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0
| group 2 = 0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:1:0: 0:0:2:1:1: 1:0:0:1:0: 0:0:0:1:0: 1:0:0:0:0: 0:1
| group 3 = 0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:1:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0:0:0:0: 0:0
| colors = MediumSeaGreen : Brown : DarkGrey
| group names = Atlas F : Taurus/Minotaur-C : GBI
| x legends = '62::: 1965::::: 1990::::: 1995::::: 2000::::: 2005::::: 2010::::: 2015::
| y tick marks = 2
| units suffix = _launches
}}
= List of launches =
All launches from 1962 to 1964 operated by the United States Air Force. All launches from 1994 to 2011 operated by Orbital Sciences Corporation. All launches in 2017 operated by Orbital ATK.
| class="wikitable"
|+ !No. !Date !Time (UTC) !Launch vehicle !Payload !Result !Remarks |
| 1
|1 August 1962 |21:07 |Suborbital test | {{Success}} |Maiden flight of the Atlas F, and first launch from LC-576E. |
|---|
| 2
|24 March 1963 |00:29 |Suborbital test | {{Failure}} |Failure caused by first stage malfunction. |
| 3
|7 August 1964 |20:12 |Suborbital test | {{Success}} | |
| 4
|22 December 1964 |19:15 |Suborbital test | {{Success}} | |
| 5
|13 March 1994 |22:32 |TAOS | {{Success}} |Maiden flight of the Taurus. First orbital launch from LC-576E. |
| 6
|10 February 1998 |13:20 | {{Success}} | |
| 7
|3 October 1998 |10:04 | {{Success}} |Launch for the National Reconnaissance Office. Technology demonstration satellite, also known as STEX. |
| 8
|21 December 1999 |07:13 | {{Success}} | |
| 9
|12 March 2000 |09:29 |MTI | {{Success}} | |
| 10
|21 September 2001 |18:49 | {{Failure}} |Flew off course following first stage separation. Although it recovered, it failed to reach a stable orbit. |
| 11
|6 February 2003 |21:00 |GBI |Suborbital test | {{Success}} |Test launch of a missile interceptor based on Taurus hardware. Apogee of 1,810 km (1,120 mi). |
| 12
|20 May 2004 |17:47 | {{Success}} | |
| 13
|24 February 2009 |09:55 | {{Failure}} |Satellite aimed at measuring carbon dioxide composition in Earth's atmosphere. Payload fairing failed to separate, with the added weight causing failure to reach orbit. |
| 14
|4 March 2011 |10:09 | {{Failure}} |Satellite aimed at measuring aerosols such as sulfates in Earth's atmosphere. Payload fairing failed to separate, with the added weight causing failure to reach orbit. |
| 15
|31 October 2017 |21:37 | {{Success}} |First launch following the renaming of Taurus to Minotaur-C. Only LC-576E launch operated by Orbital ATK. |
Gallery
File:Taurus Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg AFB.jpg|A long-range shot of LC-576E with a Taurus on the pad, carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory.
File:Taurus with Glory on launch stool at VAFB 576-E 02.jpg|A Taurus-XL on LC-576E in 2011, carrying NASA's Glory satellite.
References
External Links
- [http://www.astronautix.com/v/vandenberg576e.html LC-576E at Encyclopedia Astronautica]
{{Vandenberg}}
Category:Vandenberg Space Force Base