VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE has been the heart of the Air Force’s West Coast missile program since it successfully launched its first IRBM (for Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) in 1958. And they are still going strong. We watched their most recent launch of a commercial imaging satellite on Tuesday through patchy clouds.
First launch
Connie has been here before, not exactly as a Space Cadet, but for training in Space Operations with Air Force Space Command. It’s one of the reasons that we decided to spend a couple of weeks at the Vandenberg FamCamp. The other is that we can store our rig here cheaply when we leave for Columbia. More on that later.
Jay's regales Lt. Chad and Connie
It was just coincidence that Jay, chief cook and bottle-washer, had time to share Vandenberg’s history with a visiting lieutenant and us and show us what is — and and his vision for — the Missile Museum.
Circa 1959 Original equipment
The Cold War is over — or maybe it isn’t — at least we are beyond the “duck and cover” era. But ICBMs and “Spy” satellites are still part of the job here at Vandenberg. Mostly, though, they deal with commercial communications and imaging satellites like Tuesday’s launch. As the Air Force rocket guys and girls say, Space Command: Above the Rest.
To Boldly Go . . .
