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  Space shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base

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Author Topic:   Space shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Headshot
Member

Posts: 864
From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 04-09-2013 03:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There were plans to launch the space shuttle from Vandenberg AFB in the '80s and a dedicated launch complex was built there for these DoD missions.

My questions are as follows:

  1. Were any astronauts formally assigned to crews for these mission? I seem to recall that Robert Crippen was assigned to command the first Dod mission, but cannot remember who his crewmates would have been.

  2. Had the launches occurred, would the shuttle have flown north or south? I dimly recall that these were to be polar orbit missions. I am wondering where the SRBs would have landed.

  3. What happened to these facilities?
I believe that Reagan cancelled this DoD aspect of the shuttle program after Challenger was lost. I know that I saw, a long time ago, images of Enterprise being used to check out the launch pad etc. before the shoe dropped.

Delta7
Member

Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 04-09-2013 04:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delta7   Click Here to Email Delta7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STS-62A
  • CDR: Robert Crippen
  • PLT: Guy Gardner
  • MS: Dale Gardner
  • MS: Mike Mullane
  • MS: Jerry Ross
  • PS: John Waterson
  • PS: Edward "Pete" Aldridge

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-09-2013 04:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The launch complex, Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6, pronounced "Slick-Six"), was originally built in 1966 to fly Titan 3 boosters and modified Gemini B capsules for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). Two decades later, it was converted to support Air Force launches of the space shuttle.

Space shuttle Enterprise was brought to Vandenberg in 1985 to serve as a fit check vehicle for the reconfigured launch pad and support facilities.

As mentioned, the first crew assigned to launch from SLC-6 was for STS-62A, with commander Bob Crippen, pilot Guy Gardner and mission specialists Mike Mullane, Jerry Ross and Dale Gardner. Pete Aldridge and Brett Watterson were assigned as payload specialists.

The mission would have launched southward over the Pacific Ocean into polar orbit. STS-62A was scheduled to deploy the Teal Ruby experimental spacecraft and operate a package of sensors in the payload bay.

You can read more about the history of SLC-6 at Spaceflight Now. Linked from that page are multiple photo galleries showing Enterprise at the pad.

After its use for the space shuttle was canceled, SLC-6 was used briefly to launch Athena rockets, before being remodified to support Delta IV boosters, which have launched there since 2006.

capcomespace
Member

Posts: 27
From: france
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 03-17-2019 01:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for capcomespace   Click Here to Email capcomespace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am looking for informations to update my website.

Anybody can confirmed when the Enterprise stack was mated on SLC-6? I have between 7-14 January 1985 for SRB mate, 27-28 January for ET mate and 29-30 January for orbiter mate.

On pics and any video, it was raining when Enterprise arrived at pad on transporter. On other pics, the sky was blue when was rolled into MSAB. Remain a day outdoor the MSAB?

February 4, the PCR (Payload Changeout Room) was rolled close to orbiter. Correct?

February 15, the stack was cleared. Correct?

February 19 was the family day to see the Enterprise at SLC-6. Was the "fog day" show on pics?

Dated the water deluge at pad and the de-stacked operation.

When Enterprise was on pad for mate, exterior to MSAB was all white. On any pics, USAF was painted and follow the US flag on side. Dated this "art painting"?

Jim Behling
Member

Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 03-18-2019 09:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
SAB (Shuttle Assembly Building), not MSAB.

capcomespace
Member

Posts: 27
From: france
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 03-18-2019 01:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for capcomespace   Click Here to Email capcomespace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes SAB, not Mobile Shuttle Assembly Building, sorry...

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