posted 11-21-2015 10:41 AM               

Space Cover #344: "Slick-Six" and STS-62A: The Polar Express

Space Launch Complex (SLC-6), or Slick-Six, at Vandenberg AFB, CA, was planned to serve as the space shuttle's West Coast launch site for north-south Polar orbit missions, and STS-62A — referred to as the "Polar Express" — was to be the first launch from there and become the world's first north-south polar orbit manned mission!

SLC-6 was originally developed to serve as Titan III and the Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL) launches, but they were canceled before construction was complete. The complex was later rebuilt to serve as the West Coast DoD/military Space Shuttle launch site. But after the Challenger accident and over $4 billion was spent in turning Slick-Six into the launch site for the shuttle polar missions — SLC-6 was mothballed. Years later it saw its first-ever launch, by an Athena rocket and later Delta IVs.

The seven-man STS-62A crew was scheduled to launch from Slick-Six in October 1986 but was canceled because of the loss of Challenger. Three of the crew members, Jerry Ross, Mike Mullane and Guy Gardner, were transferred to the STS-27 flight crew — another DoD mission — and this cover, autographed by the entire STS-62A crew, was postmarked for the STS-27 launch.

The other autographs on the STS-62A/STS-27 cover are Bob Crippen, Dale Gardner, Brett Watterson, a Manned Spaceflight Engineer, and Pete Aldridge, Secretary of the Air Force.

The photograph at the top was taken in November 1983 with the SCA and orbiter Discovery over its planned launch site, Slick-Six/SLC-6, under construction, on a fly-by during its cross-country delivery flight to KSC. If all had gone as planned, Discovery would have launched from there in October 1986. However, fate intervened, but many believe it was for the best, as many problems and uncertainties developed concerning the safely of launching shuttles from Slick-Six.

As a side note to the unhappy story of STS-62A and Slick-Six, remote and tiny Easter Island was planned to serve as an emergency landing site for shuttle orbiters launching from Slick-Six.

posted 11-23-2015 06:03 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob M:
As a side note to the unhappy story of STS-62A and Slick-Six, remote and tiny Easter Island was planned to serve as an emergency landing site for shuttle orbiters launching from Slick-Six.

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As an aside, that scenario was covered in "Shuttle Down" by a "Lee Correy" - actually G. Harry Stine. Until recently, Rick Sternbach (yes, of Star Trek fame) did not know that the publisher used his painting showing a side view of Atlantis touching down in front of one of the Easter Island heads for a cover! (That cover also shows Atlantis in Columbia markings - name on PBDs, and black wing chines.)