Vandenberg Air Base, also known as the Western Missile Range, in addition to control and test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and anti-missile interceptors, was used for the implementation of many American space programs, both defense and civilian. The geographic location of the Western Missile Range on the Pacific coast facilitates the launch of satellites into polar orbit. The launch occurs in the course of the Earth's rotation, which is especially suitable for launching reconnaissance spacecraft.
After the American U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down in the USSR near Sverdlovsk, the United States stepped up the development of space reconnaissance assets. On February 28, 1959, the world's first polar-orbiting research satellite Discoverer-1 was launched into space from the launch site in California by the Thor-Agena launch vehicle. As it became known later, the "Discoverer" was part of the "black" intelligence program CORONA.
LV "Tor-Ajena" at the launch complex of the Vandenberg base
The Korona program used reconnaissance satellites of the series: KH-1, KH-2, KH-3, KH-4, KH-4A and KH-4B (KeyHole - keyhole) - a total of 144 satellites. With the help of long-focus wide-format cameras installed on reconnaissance satellites, it was possible to obtain high-quality images of Soviet missile and nuclear ranges, ICBM positions, strategic aviation airfields and defense plants.
The Tor-Agena light launch vehicle was a combination of the Thor medium-range ballistic missile, used as the first stage, and Lockheed's specially designed Agena booster. The mass of the stage with fuel is about 7 tons, thrust is 72 kN. The use of the improved upper stage Agena-D made it possible to bring the carrying capacity to 1.2 tons in low orbit. The main purpose of the Tor-Ajena LV is to launch military satellites into high inclination orbits. Upper stage "Ajena" until February 1987 was used as part of carrier rockets "Tor-Ajena", "Atlas-Ajena", "Torad-Ajena" and "Titan-3B". In total, 365 launches were carried out with the participation of the Agena block. In general, the Americans are very characteristic of a rational approach to the use of withdrawn from combat duty ballistic missiles. In the United States, much more often than in the USSR and Russia, whole rockets or their stages were used in various launch vehicles to put the payload into orbit. However, in addition to purely military programs, the launch positions of the Vandenberg airbase, albeit on a smaller scale, were also used to launch research spacecraft.
In the second half of the 60s, a large area south of the early structures of the base passed into the ownership of the military. Initially, it was planned to build launch facilities for the Titan III launch vehicles. However, the construction was soon suspended, as the main civilian programs were decided to be carried out at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, in 1972, Vandenberg was chosen as the western launching pad for the Shuttle launches. From the SLC-6 launch pad, "space shuttles" were supposed to deliver cargoes into space used in various defense programs. Construction of the shuttle site was carried out from January 1979 to July 1986. If launched from the coast in California, the space shuttle could launch a large payload into polar orbit and would have a more optimal trajectory. In total, about $ 4 billion was spent on the construction of launch facilities, the creation of the necessary infrastructure and the modernization of the runway.
On October 15, 1985, the Space Shuttle Launch Complex was ceremonially commissioned, and preparations for the launch of the Discovery spacecraft began here. The launch was scheduled for October 15, 1986, but the Challenger disaster put an end to these plans, and not a single manned reusable spacecraft from this site was sent into space. The launch complex was maintained in a "hot" state until February 20, 1987, after which it was mothballed. Having spent enormous money by the standards of the 1980s, on December 26, 1989, the Air Force officially refused to launch "space shuttles" from the Vandenberg site.
Satellite image of Google Efhth: Launch complex built for Space Shuttle ships
After abandoning the use of the SLC-6 launch complex for launching "space shuttles", the US Air Force decided to deliver military satellites to polar orbits using launch vehicles of the Titan family from the SLC-4W and SLC-4E (Space Launch Complex 4) launch sites, located 5 km north of the SLC-6 complex. Both sites were originally built to use Atlas-Agena missiles, but were later redesigned to launch the Titan launch vehicle. From here until early 1991, 93 Titan IIID, Titan 34D and Titan IV rockets were launched.
Launch of Titan IIID from SLC-4E pad
Titan 34D and Titan IV were further development options for the Titan IIID carriers The first flight of the Titan IIID took place on June 15, 1971. Most of the launch vehicles of this type were used to launch reconnaissance vehicles into orbit.
Titan 34D launch vehicle explosion
On November 6, 1988, during the launch of the Titan 34D with the KH-9 reconnaissance satellite, a powerful explosion occurred right at the launch site. The launchers were seriously damaged, while in a radius of several hundred meters everything was flooded with toxic rocket fuel. It took 16 months to restore the launch complex and put it into operation.
Satellite image of Google Efhth: launch pads SLC-4E and SLC-4W
The lineage of all Titan launch vehicles goes back to the LGM-25C Titan ICBM. Since the performance of the missile did not suit the military, Martin was awarded a contract in June 1960 for a new missile, designated SM-68B Titan II. Compared to the Titan I, the new ICBM, fueled with long-lasting propellant and oxidizer components, was 50% heavier. But soon the solid-propellant "Minuteman" was adopted and the already built combat missiles began to be altered to deliver cargo into orbit. Titan II in the version of the launch vehicle received the designation Titan 23G. These rockets were mainly used to launch defense spacecraft into orbit. However, there were exceptions: for example, on January 25, 1994, the Clementine space probe was launched from the SLC-4W launch complex to follow the Moon and deep space.
Titan 23G
The launch vehicles of the Titan series differed from the combat launching devices and modified engines. Titan III, in addition to the main liquid stages, received additional solid fuel boosters, which increased the weight of the payload. The mass of the missiles ranged from 154,000 to 943,000 kg, and the payload weight from 3,600 to 17,600 kg.
In 2011, SpaceX began work on re-equipping the SLC-4W launch site for launching Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 family of two-stage rockets with a maximum output load of up to 22,800 kg with engines powered by kerosene and liquid oxygen was created with the aim of significantly reducing the cost of delivering goods to orbit. For this, the first stage is made reusable. So, by 2016, it was possible to achieve a cost reduction to $ 2,719 / kg, which is about 5-6 times less than it was when launching the launch vehicles of the Titan family. The first launch of Falcon 9 from the territory of the "Western Rocket Range" took place on September 29, 2013, when the launch vehicle lifted the Canadian multifunctional satellite CASSIOPE into polar elliptical orbit.
Launch of Falcon 9 rocket with CASSIOPE satellite
The Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, capable of launching 63,800 kg into near-earth orbit, uses the technical solutions implemented in Falcon 9. It is with this launch vehicle that the Americans intend to carry out a mission to Mars in the future. To launch Falcon Heavy, the SLC-4E complex is currently being refurbished.
This is how Falcon Heavy will look on the launch pad
After a fairly long hiatus in the mid-90s, the launch facilities at the SLC-6 (Space Launch Complex 6.) position were reactivated. In 1993, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the conversion of the decommissioned MX ICBMs. The family of light-class launch vehicles, in which the propulsion stages of a ballistic missile were used in whole or in part, received the designation Athena. Depending on the layout, the mass of the payload launched into space was 794 - 1896 kg.
Athena 1 shortly before launch from SLC-6 position
For the first time "Athena" with a payload in the form of a miniature communications satellite Gemstar 1 was launched in California on August 15, 1995. But due to the loss of control, the missile had to be eliminated. After eliminating the identified shortcomings, the second successful start took place on August 22, 1997. In total, 5 Athena 1/2 launch vehicles were used to launch light satellites; out of 5 launches, 3 were successful. However, using a launch complex worth several billion dollars to launch light missiles was considered irrational, and the leadership of the Western Missile Range on September 1, 1999, leased the SLC-6 to Boeing.
The Delta IV launch vehicle, despite its name, had little in common with the early Delta family designs. The main difference was the use of hydrogen in the first stage Rocketdine RS-68S engines instead of kerosene. A rocket weighing 226400 kg is capable of delivering a payload weighing 28790 kg to a near-earth orbit.
Delta IV Launch from SLC-6 Launch Complex
June 27, 2006 LV Delta IV. starting from the territory of the Vandenberg airbase, it launched a reconnaissance satellite into the calculated orbit. In total, there were six Delta IV launches from the SLC-6 launch complex in California, the last one took place on October 2, 2016. All launches were carried out in the interests of the military. However, the future of the Delta IV launch vehicle is uncertain due to its high cost of ownership. In the American market, it is seriously competed by: SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Atlas V. created by Lockheed Martin.
Delta IV Heavy
On the basis of Delta IV, the heavier Delta IV Heavy was designed with a launch weight of 733,000 kg. This rocket uses two additional solid-propellant GEM-60 boosters weighing 33,638 kg each. Solid fuel boosters. working 91 seconds. create a total thrust of 1750 kN. On January 20, 2011, the first launch of Delta IV Heavy from the Western Rocket Range took place.
At present, Atlas V launches are being implemented from the SLC-3 launch complex (Space Launch Complex 3). This complex was built in the mid-60s to launch Atlas-Agena and Tor-Agena.
Satellite image of Google Efhth: SLC-3 launch pad
The Atlas V launch vehicle was created as part of the EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) program. A feature of Atlas V is the use of the Russian RD-180 engine in the first stage. working on kerosene and liquid oxygen.
Start Atlas V
A heavy two-stage rocket weighing 334500 kg can launch a load of 9800-18810 kg into space. From Edwards airbase, the first Atlas V was launched on March 9, 2008 and launched a radar reconnaissance satellite into the calculated orbit. Atlas V can be used in conjunction with two additional upper stages of the first stage of the Centaur-3, which are powered by liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
With the help of the Atlas V launch vehicle, the Kh-37V reusable unmanned spaceplanes were launched into space four times from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The device, also known as OTV (Orbital Test Vehicle - Orbital test vehicle), is designed for a long stay in low-earth orbit.
Although the ITV project was originally initiated by NASA, it is currently under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, and all details regarding space missions are considered "classified" information. The first flight of the Kh-37B lasted from April 22, 2010 to December 3, 2010. The official goal of the mission was to test the remote control system and thermal protection, but there was no need to be in space for 7 months.
As of May 2017, two X-37Bs have completed four orbital missions, spending a total of 2,086 days in space. The X-37B became the first reusable spacecraft to use the Vandenberg airbase runway, which was reconstructed in the mid-1980s for the Space Shuttle, for landing. According to the information released to the public, the Kh-37B flies at a speed of 25M when entering the atmosphere. Its engine runs on hydrazine and nitrogen dioxide. To protect against toxic fuel, the maintenance personnel after landing the spaceplane are forced to work in insulating spacesuits.
In general, the importance of the Vandenberg airbase for the American military space can hardly be overestimated. It was from the California launch sites that most of the American military satellites were launched. All land-based ballistic missiles were tested here in the past, and now interceptors of the anti-missile defense system and reusable unmanned spaceships are being tested.
At the moment, at the dominant heights in the vicinity of the airbase, there are six control and measuring posts, from where missile launches are escorted with the help of radar and optical means. Trajectory measurements and reception of telemetry information are also carried out by the technical means of the measuring point of the Naval Base Ventura County naval base, located 150 km to the south.
US Navy Base Ventura County was formed in 2000 through the merger of Naval Aviation Base Point Mugu and Naval Engineering and Construction Center Center Port Hueneme. At Point Mugu, the base command has two asphalt runways of 3384 and 1677 meters and 93,000 km² of sea area. The Point Mugu facility was founded during World War II as a training center for US Navy anti-aircraft artillery. In the late 40s, rocket tests began on the California coast. It was here that the development and control tests of most of the anti-aircraft, aviation, anti-ship and ballistic missiles adopted by the Navy were carried out. Along the coastal strip, there are several prepared concreted areas, from which missiles of various classes and unmanned radio-controlled targets were launched in the past.
Since 1998, Point Mugu has been the home of the E-2S carrier-based AWACS aircraft of the US Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers. The airfield is also home to the aircraft of the special 30th test squadron for support and control of training and test missile launches. Until 2009, the squadron had F-14 Tomcat and F / A-18 Hornet fighters. In 2009, these aircraft were replaced by the S-3 Viking anti-submarine aircraft, which were better suited for monitoring missile launch areas. In 2016, the last Viking was retired and the specially modified C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion remained in the 30th squadron.
NP-3D Billboard
Of particular interest is the NP-3D Billboard radar and visual control aircraft. This aircraft, designed to obtain objective control data during tests of missile weapons, has a side-looking radar and various optoelectronic equipment, and high-resolution cameras for photo and video recording of tested objects.
Satellite image of Google Earth: aircraft "Hunter", "Kfir" and L-39 at the Point Mugu airfield
To increase the realism of the exercises and as close as possible to a real combat situation, foreign-made combat aircraft belonging to the private company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAS) are involved. The company also has jamming equipment and simulators of anti-ship missiles (more details here: American company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company). ATAS is one of several US private aviation companies contracted with the US Department of Defense for combat training (see details here: US Private Aircraft Companies).
As you know, the US Marine Corps is a separate branch of the military. The command of the USMC independently decides what equipment and weapons to equip its units with. Also, the US ILC has its own aviation, designed primarily to provide fire support for the landing. China Lake Air Force Base and the proving ground located in its vicinity have become the same testing center for the Marine Corps aviation as the Edwards Air Force Base for the Air Force. China Lake is located in the western part of the Mojave Desert, approximately 240 km north of Los Angeles. The 51,000 km² area around the airbase, which covers approximately 12% of California's total area, is off-limits to civil aircraft and is shared with Edwards Air Force Base and the Fort Irvine Army Test Center. The airbase has three capital runways with a length of 3046, 2747 and 2348 meters.
The name of the airbase, which literally translates as "China Lake", is associated with the fact that in the 19th century Chinese workers mined a buru in the bed of a dried-up lake in this area. Like most other military bases, China Lake emerged during the Second World War. In the post-war period, the territory of a secluded air base was used for testing various aircraft weapons. It was here, since 1950, that the widespread AIM-9 Sidewinder melee aircraft missile was tested. The first air-to-air missile tested at China Lake was the AAM-N-5 Meteor with a semi-active radar seeker.
UR AAM-N-5 under the wing of the A-26 Invader
A massive rocket weighing 260 kg, with a wide cruciform tail, according to design data, was supposed to develop a maximum speed of 3M and have a launch range of up to 40 km. The rocket had a two-stage propulsion system, uncharacteristic for use in aviation. The first stage was solid fuel, and the second was liquid. Tests in the China Lake area began in July 1948, with closed-loop missiles in throw mode launched from the A-26 Invader twin-engined piston bomber. Beginning in 1951, test launches were conducted from the Douglas F3D Skyknight deck all-weather night fighter, and 15 missiles were launched from a ground launcher. Development work on the AAM-N-5 continued until 1953. However, by that time it became clear that the rocket was too complex and overweight. Since more promising samples were received for testing, the project was closed.
In 1958, China Lake began testing the Nots-EV-1 Pilot anti-satellite aircraft missile, which was being developed to equip the Navy's carrier-based interceptors.
Nots-EV-1 Pilot rocket suspended under an F-6A Skyray
The rocket weighing 900 kg was tested from a Douglas F-6A Skyray supersonic deck interceptor with a delta wing. In total, 10 attempts were made to launch missiles, but all of them, for various reasons, were unsuccessful and the funding of the program was curtailed.
F / A-18 carrier-based fighter with CR SLAM-ER under the right plane
In total, two dozen aircraft and missiles launched from ground-based installations were tested in China Lake, rocket launchers, infantry grenade launchers, thermal and radar jammers and new explosives were tested here. Of the most modern examples, the latest versions of the Tomahawk and SLAM-ER cruise missiles can be noted. Currently, the creation of the CD Tomahawk, capable of hitting moving targets, is underway. The tactical aviation KR SLAM-ER with a launch range of 270 km is currently considered the most accurate missile of the US Navy, designed to destroy ground targets.
On the territory of the China Lake airbase, there are: a naval ammunition laboratory, workshops where final assembly and pre-testing of ammunition is carried out and a test unit of the National Laboratory for Aviation Rescue Equipment. The disposal of obsolete ammunition is carried out in a specially built complex, at a considerable distance from the main facilities of the base. More than 4,000 military personnel and 1,700 civilian specialists are serving in China Lake. On a permanent basis, three dozen carrier-based combat aircraft are deployed at the air base: F / A-18C / D Hornet, F / A-18E / F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and AV-8B Harrier II and helicopters UH-1Y Venom, AH- 1W Super Cobra and AH-1Z Viper belonging to the 9th and 31st Test Squadrons.
Satellite image of Google Earth: "Phantoms", shot at a training ground in the vicinity of China Lake airbase
For testing new types of aviation ammunition and practicing combat use in the vicinity of the air base, there is an extensive training ground where decommissioned samples of various military equipment, mock-ups of Soviet air defense systems and radars are installed as targets. On the site, imitating the enemy's airfield, decommissioned American fighters are "disposed of" by shooting.
Not far from China Lake airbase, among the mountains is the Fort Irwin Ground Forces training and testing center. The base, named after World War I member Major General George Leroy Irwin, was founded by order of President Roosevelt in 1940. On the territory of 3000 km ² in wartime, preparation of calculations of anti-aircraft batteries was carried out. After the end of hostilities, the base was deactivated, but in 1951 the military returned here again. Fort Irvine was used as a training site for armored personnel sent to Korea. During the Vietnam War, military engineers and artillery units were trained here. In the early 70s, the base was transferred to the disposal of the National Guard, but already in 1979 it was announced the creation of a National Training Center and a proving ground with an area of 2,600 km². The remoteness from settlements and the presence of large flat areas of the terrain made this area an ideal place for organizing large-scale exercises and artillery firing of long-range guns.
It was at Fort Irvine that the first production tanks M1 Abrams and BMP M2 Bradley arrived for initial development and military trials. Many American armored and mechanized infantry units on a rotational basis honed offensive and defensive combat tactics here. In the 1980s, the US armed forces showed great interest in studying Soviet military equipment, methods and tactical techniques for its use and training its ground units against an enemy using Soviet combat manuals and combat tactics. To this end, a special unit, also known as the 32nd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, was created at the US Army's National Training Center under the OPFOR (Opposing Force) program.
Initially, this unit was armed with single samples of Soviet-made military equipment: T-55, T-62, T-72, BMP-1, BRDM-2, MT-LB, military vehicles. Basically, during the imitation of Soviet armored vehicles in the exercises, heavily camouflaged Sheridan tanks and M113 armored personnel carriers were used. The personnel of the "motorized rifle regiment" had Soviet uniforms (more details here: "Our own among strangers").
After the end of the Cold War, the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the USSR, a wide variety of Soviet-made military equipment became available. However, at Fort Irvine during the exercise, it was used to a limited extent, due to the difficulties of operation and maintenance. In the 90s, most of the Sheridan light tanks were decommissioned, and the M2 Bradley BMP began to represent the potential enemy's equipment.
After the events of September 11, 2001, the main focus of the US Army National Training Center was the training of military personnel sent to Afghanistan and Iraq.
One of the features of the base is the presence of 12 fake "villages" in the vicinity, which are used to prepare troops for operations in urban areas. During the construction of fictitious settlements, real villages or city blocks were imitated. During the exercise, situations involving the use of improvised explosive devices, attacks on transport convoys, clearing the area and other situations that may arise during the "anti-terrorist operation" are practiced.
Satellite image of Google Earth: a fake village 15 km northeast of the Fort Irvine base
For added credibility, the exercise features actors portraying local government officials, police and military, villagers, street vendors and rebels. The largest village, where the personnel of an entire brigade can work at the same time, consists of 585 buildings.
10 km west of the US Army National Training Center, in the territory controlled by the military, there is a telecommunications complex GDSCC (English Goldstone Deep Space Communications complex). It is named after the ghost town of Goldstone, abandoned after the end of the gold rush. Construction of this complex began at the dawn of the space age in 1958, and was originally intended for communication with defense satellites.
Now it is possible to observe six parabolic antennas with a diameter of 34 to 70 meters and buildings with highly sensitive radio receivers. According to official information, the object, owned by NASA, is intended for communication with spacecraft. In between sessions, Goldstone antennas are used as radio telescopes for astronomical research such as observing quasars and other cosmic sources of radio emission, radar mapping of the moon, and tracking comets and asteroids.
