SpaceX leases launch pad at Vandenberg military base from US Space Force

Colonel Rob Long, commander of Space Launch Delta 30, last week signed a letter of support for the lease of the launch pad at US Space Force base Vandenberg to SpaceX. The duration was not specified.

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Elon Musk's company now has five launch pads on US soil at its disposal. SpaceX will operate two of the sites at Vandenberg. An agreement signed with the U.S. Space Force allows the company to use Complex 6.

Tesla can also launch from two complexes in Florida. The fifth launch site is Starbase in Texas, from where Starship took off with a Super Heavy rocket last week.

Under the contract, SpaceX will launch Falcon 9 rockets from Launch Complex 6. This will enable the company to cope with an increase in the number of launches of its own satellites, as well as commercial and government missions. The launch pad was vacated by the Boeing-Lockheed United Launch Alliance joint venture in September 2022 and has not been used since.

Source: Reuters