Message posted by Chuck Clark on April 01, 2005 at 8:01:35 PST:

Vandenberg AFB did have a space shuttle program in place in the eighties, but when the Challenger was lost, the decision was made to cancel the Vandenberg program and use Atlantis (that was scheduled to be the Air Force's shuttle) to replace Challenger in Florida. Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC6) was the shuttle pad at Vandenberg. It went unused for several years and recently has been used for a few small rocket launches. The pad is scheduled for use later this year for the first west coast launch of a Delta IV rocket.

There are a number of photos on several different websites that show the Vandenberg launch pad and Space Shuttle Enterprise (the non space-worthy prototype of the shuttle program) being towed to the pad, then “stacked” with inert boosters into launch position on the pad. To view these images, try doing a google search for “space shuttle Vandenberg” In addition to the launch complex, Vandenberg also constructed a 15,000 foot by 200 foot runway to accommodate the shuttle’s return from space. That runway is one of the emergency backup strips that could be used for an emergency return of the shuttle from space.

In Reply to: Re: Military Space Shuttle posted by Scot Tway on March 31, 2005 at 22:02:03 PST:

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