Smaller parcels were obtained either by lease, license, or as easements. In March 1941, the Army acquired approximately 86,000 acres of open ranch lands along the Central Coast of California between Lompoc and Santa Maria. As the nation began its rearmament program, the Army sought more and better training centers for the rapid development of its armored and infantry forces. With the war spreading to other areas soon it would be America's turn to take up the battle. The Nazi blitzkrieg had overrun most of Europe, while large areas of the Pacific region had fallen to Japanese occupation. The year 1941 was a pivotal time in world history. It is also the only site from which intercontinental ballistic missiles are test fired into the Pacific Ocean, and splash down at the Kwajalein Atoll within the Marshall Islands. Vandenberg AFB is the only military base in the United States from which unmanned government and commercial satellites are launched into polar orbit. The installation is about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and is presently operated by Air Force Space Command's 30th Space Wing. In the proceeding year it was renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base. Transformation of Camp Cooke into the nation's first space and ballistic missile operational and training base began in 1957 when it was transferred to the United States Air Force. After the war and a short period of inactivation, the installation was called up again for the Korean War in 1950.īetween the wars and as late as January 1957, the military reservation had reverted to its previous use for cattle and sheep grazing. As a training center for armored and infantry troops, young recruits assigned to Cooke were forged into combat-ready soldiers and shipped overseas for duty against German and Japanese forces. Once a haven for wild game and cattle grazing, some 86,000 acres of open lands in the Lompoc-Guadalupe-Santa Maria triangle passed to the United States Army, and practically overnight became the site of a huge military encampment called Camp Cooke. 2 statement, the company thanked Vandenberg personnel and Space Launch Delta 30 for their “ partnership” and promised “further updates as more information becomes available.The year 1941 brought with it the beginnings of unprecedented change to California's picturesque Central Coast. That timeline was delayed, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing a large role.
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Originally, the startup planned for its first launch in the third quarter of 2019. “While we did not meet all of our mission objectives, we did achieve a number of them: successful first stage ignition, liftoff of the pad, progression to supersonic speed, and we obtained a substantial amount of flight data,” Firefly said in its statement.įirefly took over one of Vandenberg’s launch pads in 2018, when the Delta II rocket, operated by NASA and the Air Force, was officially retired.
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Photos and videos of the flight reported by and the Santa Maria Times appear to show the rocket spinning in midair in the moments leading up to its explosion. Recreational areas, including beaches on the base, will remain closed while an investigation takes place, and if residents spot debris, they are instructed to stay at least 50 feet away. Firefly issued its own statement saying it was “too early to draw conclusions as to the root cause” of the anomaly.īoth organizations reported no injuries, though Space Launch Delta 30 did issue a statement warning local residents that there could be debris as a result of the explosion. In a press release, Space Launch Delta 30 public affairs said it terminated the flight after a reported anomaly. Launching out of Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 2 West, the 95-foot vehicle successfully lifted off and ascended for roughly two-and-a-half minutes, as seen in live-streamed video, before abruptly exploding, just moments after flight control operators said it had reached supersonic speeds. 2, resulting in a dramatic explosion over the Pacific Ocean near Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.įirefly was testing its Alpha rocket, designed to carry small satellites into orbit, for the first time. Space Launch Delta 30 was forced to terminate the first test flight of space startup Firefly Aerospace’s rocket due to an anomaly Sept.