Launch site Vandenberg AFB Short name SLC-10 Launch pad(s) 2 Phone +1 805-605-8300 Architect United States Air Force | Location 34°45'55"N
120°37'20"W Total launches 38 Area 56 ha Added to NRHP 23 June 1986 | |
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Operator US Air Force
Royal Air Force Address Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, CA 93437, USA Similar RAF Harrington, Cape Canaveral Air Force, Twenty‑Five Foot Space Simulator, Cape Canaveral Air Force, Rendezvous Docking Simulator | ||
Space Launch Complex 10, or Missile Launch Complex 10, is located on Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California. It was built in 1958 to test ballistic missiles and developed into a space launching facility in 1963. Prior to 1966 Space Launch Complex 10 West was known as Vandenberg AFB Pad 75-2-6. It remains a rare pristine look at the electronics and facilities created in that era that helped the United States grow its space capabilities.
Contents
The last launch from this complex was a Thor booster in 1980. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
It is undergoing an eight-year restoration, and public visits are possible, if arranged in advance.
RAF
SLC-10 was used to train military operators of PGM-17 Thor ballistic missiles, and to conduct missile launch tests. Seven launch attempts were conducted from SLC-10E by British Armed Forces Royal Air Force crews, of which six were successful. (There was also one PGM-17 Thor missile launch by an RAF crew from SLC-10W, which took place 1959-08-14.)
Johnston Island
The facilities at SLC-10 were dismantled and transported to Johnston Island in support of Operation Dominic, a nuclear weapons testing project conducted there in 1962.
DMSP
The equipment was returned to Vandenberg to support early launches of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, which were conducted at SLC-10W from 1965 to 1980, using the Thor satellite launch vehicles, the first stages of which followed the design of the Thor missile.