The Southwest's Source for Space and Astronomy Information

The Vehicle will probably send one or more unarmed warheads on a ballistic trajectory to the central Pacific.

For a complete listing of all recent and past Vandenberg launches, go to Vandenberg AFB Launch History. To access launch photos, videos, and audio reports, visit the Vandenberg Rocket and Missile Launch Multimedia library.

Current SOHO Visible Light Solar Image (click to enlarge)

60-day Solar-Terrestrial Plot (click to enlarge)

Multi-year Solar Flux Plot (click to enlarge)

(AUG 27) A pioneering NASA spacecraft launched from Vandenberg AFB in 2003 is about to meet a fiery demise. More

A Dragon spacecraft descends during a high-altitude drop test off the California coast on August 20. During the test, a helicopter released the craft nine miles from Morro Bay from a height of 14,000 feet. Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX is developing the free-flying, reusable spacecraft to ferry cargo and astronauts to Earth orbit. The event was the first-ever high-altitude drop test of a Dragon spacecraft. The firm described the test as 100% successful. Image: Robert Gilbertson, SpaceX

WASHINGTON -- NASA and Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) will conduct a full-scale test of a five-segment, first-stage solid rocket motor at 11:05 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 31. The test at the ATK Aerospace Systems test facility in Promontory, Utah will assess motor performance at low temperatures.

The static firing of the solid motor, designated Development Motor-2, will last two minutes. This is the most heavily instrumented solid rocket motor in NASA history, with 53 test objectives that will be measured using more than 760 instruments. The motor was built as an element of NASA's Constellation Program. It is the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight and is highly transferable to future heavy-lift vehicle designs.

NASA Television's live coverage of the test will begin at 11 a.m. and will broadcast a news conference at 12 p.m. with representatives from NASA and ATK.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

The solid rocket motor is managed by the Ares Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. ATK Space Systems is the prime contractor.

NASA Headquarters

(AUG 12) LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Air Force officials have completed their assessment and implemented necessary corrective actions associated with a Minotaur IV rocket software issue. That issue had prompted the Air Force to delay its previously scheduled July 8 launch of Space Based Space Surveillance. As the software effort came to a close, the government and industry team identified a potential mission risk associated with certain connectors used on flight avionics components aboard the Minotaur IV launch vehicle.

Inspections of the connectors aboard the rocket at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. are underway now and will support validation that the rocket hardware is flight ready. Upon completion of this inspection and any needed hardware replacements, the team will identify a new launch date, request that date on the western range, and continue preparations for launch. The team expects that process will result in a late September launch date. Officials confirm also there are no issues with the spacecraft, which is safely in storage at the launch base. Operations teams have continued exercises and rehearsals, ensuring they will also be mission-ready once the spacecraft launches.

Los Angeles AFB

RADCAT, an unclassified U.S. radar calibration spacecraft launched from Vandenberg AFB in 1972, spins through space in this ground-based video by Dutch satellite observer Ralf Vandenbergh. Vandenbergh collected a series of images of the spacecraft from the Netherlands on July 18 using a 10-inch astronomical telescope. Copyright 2010, Ralf Vandenbergh. Used with permission

(AUG 5) You know it's a good night when a beautiful alignment of planets is the second best thing that's going to happen. More

(JUL 27) A team of BYU engineers built a super-sensitive antenna for processing signals from deep space. More

Using NASA satellite data, scientists have produced a first-of-its kind map (click to enlarge) that details the height of the world’s forests. Although there are other local- and regional-scale forest canopy maps, the new map is the first that spans the entire globe based on one uniform method. The work is based on data collected by three satellites launched from Vandenberg AFB (ICESat, Terra, and Aqua ) and should help scientists inventory how much carbon is stored in the world’s forests store and how fast that carbon cycles through ecosystems and back into the atmosphere. Image: NASA Earth Observatory/Image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon/Based on data from Michael Lefsky.

(JUL 23) PASADENA, Calif. - A camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has helped develop the most accurate global Martian map ever. Researchers and the public can access the map via several websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet. More

(JUL 16) PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, will complete its first survey of the entire sky on July 17, 2010. The mission has generated more than one million images so far, of everything from asteroids to distant galaxies. More

On the evening of July 3, Jane Houston Jones and her husbund took advantage of dark California desert skies to observe objects invisible from the city. At about 11 p.m. the sky began to brighten from the approaching moonrise. Jones subsequently photographed the interesting silohuette created as the Moon rose behind nearby Chuckwalla Mountain. Copyright 2010, Jane Houston Jones. Used with permission

(JUL 10) The July 8 launch of a Minotaur IV booster carrying the SBSS spacecraft from Vandenberg AFB has been delayed because of a software anomaly found during testing of another Minotaur IV at the factory. The software in question is used in both rockets.

U.S. Air Force and other sources

(JUN 30) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A scheduled Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test was launched at 3:40 a.m. June 30 from Launch Facility-04 here.

The missile's single re-entry test vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles before reaching its pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ICBM analysts, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, will use the data collected to ensure the readiness and capability of the ICBM fleet.

"These launches teach us a great deal and require a team approach," said Col. Carl DeKemper, the 576th Flight Test Squadron commander and mission director. "The launch was part of our continuous self-assessment of the technical and weapons system expertise of our Airmen and the powerful capability of the ICBM fleet."

According to Vandenberg historic records, today also marked the 1,900th launch for Vandenberg AFB since the Air Force assumed the mission in 1957. "This 1,900th launch marks another milestone in the history of Vandenberg and the contribution Vandenberg has had as not only contributing to the nation's security, but also a continuing player in our nuclear deterrence role and overall space and missile launch history of the United States," said Col. Steven Winters, the 30th Space Wing vice commander and the Launch Decision Authority for this mission.

The launch was a combined effort of the 576th FLTS here, 341st Missile Wing, Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and the 30th Space Wing here.

Vandenberg AFB

The Cassini spacecraft swooped in for a close-up of the cratered, fractured surface of Saturn's moon Dione in this recently released image taken during the spacecraft's 2010 January 27 flyby. Cassini came within about 28,000 miles of Dione and acquired the visible image from a range of approximately 29,000 miles. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL in Pasadena, Calif. Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

(JUN 21) New Mexico State University researchers are developing a new technology that may lead to greater understanding of meteoric events in the Earth's atmosphere by recording images of events that occur in the night sky while most of us sleep. More

(JUN 16) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A scheduled Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test was launched here at 3:01 a.m. June 16 from Launch Facility-10.

The flight test was the first for the 576th Flight Test Squadron since its realignment under Air Force Global Strike Command.

The missile's single re-entry test vehicle traveled approximately 4,190 miles before hitting its pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

"Team Vandenberg's coordination was phenomenal resulting in a seamless launch operation," said Col. Steven Winters, the 30th Space Wing vice commander and Launch Decision Authority.

MMIII missiles launched from Vandenberg carry sophisticated data collection equipment, according to Col. Carl DeKemper, the 576th FLTS commander. ICBM analysts, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, will use the data collected from this mission for continuing force development evaluation.

"For more than 50 years, Vandenberg has been at the forefront of testing and improving ICBMs to ensure the readiness and reliability of our fleet," said Col. DeKemper. "Our team is dedicated to ensuring a safe, secure and effective combat-ready ICBM force."

Vandenberg AFB

Lying just 26 miles off the California cost, Santa Catalina or Catalina Island is a mecca for boaters and tourists. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite imaged the island in natural color on 2010 May 11. EO-1 was launched from Vandenberg AFB in 2000. Image courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team

(JUN 9) MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- A group of astronomers from NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other organizations are flying to the other side of the world for a front row seat and a rare opportunity to study a spacecraft's targeted fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere. More

(JUN 6) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 30th Space Wing and Missile Defense Agency launched a ground-based interceptor at 3:25 p.m. June 6 from North Vandenberg. The launch was a flight test for a two-stage variant of the operationally-configured three-stage interceptor now deployed at Vandenberg

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