Why Vandenberg? Vandenberg Air Force Base is home to NASA's west coast launch facility. Located along California's central coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was once even considered for a second Shuttle launch and landing site. Vandenberg spans 86-thousand acres with a mountainous region to the south and an arid, desert landscape to the north. It is nestled between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the foothills of the Santa Ynez mountains to the east. The barren, sandy area disguises it as one of North America's gateways to the universe. You may ask why NASA needs a launch site on the west coast. Well, there's really a good reason. Plenty of launches take place on the east coast, from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. However, launching a spacecraft north or south from the Cape would require it to fly over populated land, which NASA wants to avoid. So, launches from Cape Canaveral tend to be spacecraft requiring a west-east orbit. Vandenberg's location allows south-bound launches over the Pacific, away from the population. Certain kinds of spacecraft, especially Earth-observing and weather forecasting satellites, require a north-south orbit. Vandenberg is the perfect launch site for these types of missions. NASA has its own facilities on the base, including Space Launch Complex 2, a Tracking Data and Telemetry System, and Building 1610 for spacecraft processing. But Air Force resources and facilities are available for NASA's use. Most NASA payloads launched from Vandenberg are carried on the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle, because Space Launch Complex 2 is specifically configured for the Delta II. Occasionally, NASA uses Lockheed Martin's Atlas II and Titan II, and Orbital Science's Taurus and Pegasus. So, the next time you see a satellite photo of a hurricane, read about changes in our ozone layer, or any other Earth science discoveries, chances are the satellite providing this information was launched from Vandenberg. It plays a very important role in NASA's quest to understand and improve life on Earth.
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
van_040804_why
Date Created
April 14, 2004
Center
KSC
Media Type
video
Photographer
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Download this video in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
Captions
Subtitles
