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| Science | |
| SpaceX to Exit Vandenberg? | |
| 2019-07-04 | |
The whole issue of shutting down VAFB is because leadership the local community at Vandenberg has been hostile to increased commercial usage of the facility. Adding commercial passenger flights is definitely not a likely outcome.That is a fact. I also know that SpaceX has been actively brainstorming over what to do with their presence at Vandy during prolonged low flight-rate periods. One of the ideas that surfaced from those brainstorming sessions was to get out of Vandy completely. Courtesy of the recent dog-leg corridor being opened up at KSC. They worked out that basic idea a little further to see what other cost-savings could be achieved by abandoning VABF.
Polar launches historically have been flown from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast, where a small number of missions each year fly south over the Pacific Ocean toward Antarctica. Cape launches most often head east to send satellites on their way around the equator. Polar trajectories have been avoided since a 1960 Navy launch inadvertently dropped a Thor rocket stage on Cuba, reportedly killing a cow. But now, says Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the 45th Space Wing, “We can shoot south.” No near-term missions plan to use the new polar corridor, but over time it could lead to more Cape launches and consolidation of the nation’s launch infrastructure. Both the military and commercial launchers could save money by no longer having to maintain and staff infrastructure sites on both coasts. “Adding polar missions to the Cape's manifest might be very attractive to the Air Force, especially as they consider a new round of base closures in the near future,” said Edward Ellegood, an analyst at Saalex Solutions, a range operations contractor at Kennedy Space Center. “This would also be a boon for the commercial launch industry in Florida,” said Ellegood. “United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Blue Origin could reduce the costs associated with operating facilities and deploying personnel to the West Coast for only a few missions per year.” The Eastern Range began analyzing options for polar launches as a wild fire raged near Vandenberg in September 2016. The fire damaged power and communications lines and delayed a commercial mission by two months. How could the 45th Space Wing support national security missions if fires closed Vandenberg for 12, 18 or 24 months, Monteith asked his safety and flight analysts? First, they looked north, but Newfoundland proved too difficult an obstacle. Turning their attention south, a path materialized. “They crunched numbers for about eight months, and I am confident we can go south,” said Monteith. Monteith did not detail the precise trajectory, but said it involved “a little jog shortly off the pad” to turn south once offshore, “and then we’d skirt Miami.” The rocket’s first stage would drop safely before reaching Cuba, he said. The second stage would be so high up by the time it flew over the island that no special permissions would be required. | |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #4 Someone needs to come up with a satellite photo like the one of North and South Korea at night, but showing America and California (circa 2030) at night in a similar fashion. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-07-04 11:07 |
| #3 If no rockets are launched from Vandenberg, can satellites be designed to see Caliphornia as a blank spot on the globe for signals purposes? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-07-04 09:14 |
| #2 Good for them for avoiding Newfoundland though. The place is an isolated nightmare. Frozen hellscape in the winter and covered in giant insects in the summer. And yes, it seems that California is truly dedicated to driving away all potentially productive people. |
| Posted by: Vernal Hatrick 2019-07-04 07:59 |
| #1 ...So I'm clear about this, the state of California wants to completely unplug itself from the 21st century. Works for me. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2019-07-04 07:40 |