Shim
Space and astronomy news and information for the American Southwest. Coverage includes Vandenberg AFB rocket and missile launches.

Vandenberg SFB Rocket and Missile Launch Multimedia

2023 JAN 22

Use the following links to explore years of Vandenberg AFB rocket and missile launch photos, movies, videos, and audio reports.

Photos, Movies, and Video

Delta II rocket / Iridium MS-5 satellite launch

Pegasus XL rocket / TRACE satellite launch

Delta II rocket / Iridium MS-11 satellite launch

Delta II / Iridium MS-5
1997 NOV 8

Pegasus XL / TRACE
1998 APR 1

Delta II / Iridium MS-11
1998 NOV 6

Pegasus XL rocket / WIRE satellite launch

Peacekeeper missile / Glory Trip 28PA launch

MSLS (Minuteman II) missile / IFT-3 launch

Pegasus XL / WIRE
1999 MAR 4

Peacekeeper / Glory Trip 28PA
1999 MAR 10

MSLS (Minuteman II) / IFT-3
1999 OCT 2

Titan II rocket / DMSP F-15 satellite launch

Taurus rocket / ACRIMSAT / KOMPSAT satellite launch

Minotaur rocket / JAWSAT satellite launch

Titan II / DMSP F-15
1999 DEC 12

Taurus / ACRIMSAT / KOMPSAT
1999 DEC 20

Minotaur / JAWSAT
2000 JAN 26

OSPTLV (Minuteman II) missile launch

MSLS (Minuteman II) missile / IFT-5 launch

Minuteman III missile / Glory Trip 176GM launch

OSPTLV (Minuteman II)
2000 MAY 28

MSLS (Minuteman II) / IFT-5
2000 JUL 7

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 176GM
2001 NOV 7

OSPTLV (Minuteman II) / IFT-7 launch

Minuteman III missile / Glory Trip 180GM launch

Peacekeeper missile / Glory Trip 32PA launch

OSPTLV (Minuteman II) / IFT-7
2001 DEC 3

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 180GM
2002 SEP 19

Peacekeeper / Glory Trip 32PA
2003 MAR 12

Delta II rocket / Gravity Probe B satellite launch

Peacekeeper missile / Glory Trip 33PA launch

Minuteman III missile / Glory Trip 186GB launch

Delta II / Gravity Probe B
2004 APR 20

Peacekeeper / Glory Trip 33PA
2004 JUL 21

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 186GB
Minuteman III Launch Wallpaper
2004 SEP 15

Minuteman III missile / SERV 2 launch

Minotaur rocket / Streak satellite launch

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 190GB launch

Minuteman III / SERV 2
2005 AUG 25

Minotaur / Streak
2005 SEP 22

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 190GB
2006 APR 7

Delta IV rocket / NROL-22 launch

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 193GM launch

Pegasus XL rocket / AIM satellite launch

Delta IV / NROL-22
2006 JUN 27

Minuteman III / Glory Trip 193GM
2007 FEB 7

Pegasus XL / AIM
2007 APR 25

Atlas V rocket / NROL-28 launch

Delta II rocket / COSMO-3 launch

Ground Based Interceptor/ FTG-06 launch

Atlas V / NROL-28
2008 MAR 3

Delta II / COSMO-3
2008 OCT 24

Ground Based Interceptor / FTG-06
2010 JAN 31

Delta II rocket / COSMO-4 launch

Delta II / COSMO-4
2010 NOV 5

Radio News Stories

Since 1996, the Webmaster has produced numerous radio news stories about Vandenberg AFB rocket and missile launches. The following audio clips are a sample of these reports. Each story is copyrighted and used with permission.

Name Date Description
Minuteman III / Glory Trip 177GM 2002 JUL Minuteman III / Glory Trip 177GM pre-launch news story
Scud B 2002 NOV News story about upcoming launches of Scud B missiles
Titan II / Coriolis 2003 JAN Titan II / Coriolis satellite launch preview
Delta II / ICESat / CHIPSat 2003 JAN Narrative about the launch of the ICESat and CHIPSat satellites
Atlas IIas / MLV-14 2003 DEC News story about the launch of a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload
Ground-Based Interceptor / BV-5 2004 JAN Report on the BV-5 booster verification test. The test involved the launch of a prototype EKV booster for the U.S. missile defense program
Minuteman III / Glory Trip 184GM 2004 MAR Narrative about the cancellation of the Minuteman III missile / Glory Trip 184GM launch
Delta II / Gravity Probe B 2004 APR 19 News story about the pending launch of the Gravity Probe B satellite (the launch was later postponed and occurred the following day)
Minuteman III 2005 MAR 22 Minuteman III pre-launch news story
Delta II / NOAA N 2005 MAY 10 News story about upcoming launch of a Delta II rocket carrying the NOAA N environmental satellite
Minotaur / Streak 2005 SEP 22 Narrative about the Minotaur / Streak launch
Titan IV / NROL B-26 2005 OCT 19 Report on the Titan IV / NROL B-26 launch
Minuteman III / SERV 3 2006 FEB 15 Minuteman III / SERV 3 pre-launch news story
Delta II / CloudSat / CALIPSO 2006 APR 28 News story about upcoming launch of a Delta II rocket and CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites
Delta IV / NROL-22 2006 JUN 27 Narrative about the Delta IV / NROL-22 launch
Minuteman III / Glory Trip 192GM 2006 JUL 20 Report on the Minuteman III / Glory Trip 192GM launch
Ground-Based Interceptor / FTG-2 2006 AUG 30 Ground-Based Interceptor / FTG-2 pre-launch news story
Delta IV / DMSP F-17 2006 NOV 3 News story about upcoming launch of a Delta IV rocket and DMSP F-17 satellite
Delta II / NROL-21 2006 DEC 14 Delta II / NROL-21 pre-launch news story
Target Launch Vehicle / FTX-2 2007 MAR 20 Target Launch Vehicle / FTX-2 missile defense test pre-launch news story
Pegasus XL / AIM 2007 APR 25 News story about upcoming Pegasus XL / AIM satellite launch
Delta II / COSMO-1 2007 JUN 7 Delta II / COSMO-1 launch preview
Delta II / COSMO-2 2007 DEC 5 Narrative about the upcoming Delta II / COSMO-2 launch
START Inspection 2008 JAN 18 Officials from the former Soviet Union inspect Vandenberg AFB to verify compliance the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
Delta II / Jason-2 2008 JUN 19 A U.S.-French satellite that may reveal how climate change affects sea level is poised to lift-off from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Delta II / COSMO-3 2008 OCT 24 Area residents have an opportunity to see the evening launch of an Italian satellite from the Central Coast.
Taurus XL / OCO 2009 FEB 23 Orbiting Carbon Observatory pre-launch news story
Delta II / WorldView-2 2009 OCT 8 Report on the launch of the WorldView-2 commercial Earth imaging satellite
Delta II / WISE 2009 DEC 14 A NASA satellite launched from Vandenberg AFB will survey the sky in the invisible realm of the infrared.
Minotaur IV Lite / HTV-2 2010 APR 21 Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2 pre-launch news story
Minotaur IV / SBSS 2010 SEP 24 The upcoming launch of a military space surveillance satellite may be visible over a wide area.
Delta II / COSMO-4 2010 OCT 29 A Delta II rocket carrying an Italian Earth imaging satellite is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB.
Atlas V / NROL-36 2012 AUG 1 Preview of the launch of an Atlas V carrying the classified National Reconnaissance Office NROL-36 payload and several cubesats including California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo's CP5 and the University of Southern California's AENEAS
Atlas V / Landsat-8 2013 FEB 11 Landsat-8 (LDCM) pre-launch news story
Pegasus XL / IRIS 2013 JUN 27 Preview of the launch of a Pegasus XL rocket carrying NASA's IRIS solar astronomy satellite
Ground-based Interceptor / FTG-7 2013 JUL 3 News story about the upcoming FTG-7 missile defense test
Falcon 9 / CASSIOPE 2013 SEP 13 News story about the upcoming Falcon 9 / CASSIOPE launch
Atlas V / NROL-39 2013 DEC 5 Preview of the launch of an Atlas V carrying the classified National Reconnaissance Office NROL-36 payload and several small satellites
Atlas V / DMSP F-19 2014 APR 2 News story about the upcoming launch of the DMSP F-19 military weather satellite aboard an Atlas V rocket
Delta II / OCO-2 2014 JUL 2 Preview of the upcoming Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission
Atlas V / NROL-35 2014 DEC 11 Report on the Atlas V/NROL-35 launch and the rocket's use of Russian technology
Delta II / SMAP 2015 JAN 28 News story about NASA's SMAP satellite
Delta IV / NROL-55 2015 OCT 7 Preview of the NROL-55 launch and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's role in the mission
Atlas V / NROL-45 2016 FEB 9 Report on the journey of a Delta IV rocket from the factory in northern Alabama to Vandenberg AFB for launch. This story was tentatively scheduled for broadcast, but may not have aired.
Atlas V / WorldView-4 2016 SEP 16 News story about the Atlas V/WorldView-4 launch
Atlas V / NROL-79 2017 MAR 1 Description of the upcoming Atlas V/NROL-79 launch and information on launch visibility
Falcon 9 / Iridium NEXT 11-20 2017 JUN 23 Preview of the Falcon 9 / Iridium NEXT 11-20 launch scheduled for JUN 25
Atlas V / NROL-42 2017 SEP 21 Report on the Atlas V / NROL-42 launch from Vandenberg AFB and the expected light show. This story was aired on 2017 SEP 21, but the launch actually occurred on SEP 23.
Atlas V / Mars InSight 2018 MAY 4 Description of the Atlas V / Mars InSight launch from Vandenberg AFB and why this planetary mission was being launched from the West Coast.
Delta II / IceSat-2 2018 SEP 14 Preview of the IceSat-2 mission
Delta IV Heavy / NROL-71 2018 DEC 7 Report on the upcoming Delta IV Heavy/NROL-71 launch
Falcon 9 / RCM 2019 JUN 11 Description of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) launch from Vandenberg AFB and the RCM
Delta IV Heavy / NROL-82 2021 APR 24 Preview of the Delta IV Heavy / NROL-82 launch from Vandenberg AFB
Falcon 9 / SARah-1 2022 JUN 17 Report on the SARah-1 mission
Falcon 9 / SWOT 2022 DEC 9 Report on the upcoming SWOT mission

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