A Titan II missile (a type of ICBM) being launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Data[]
| Category. | Statistic. |
|---|---|
| Location. | California, USA. |
| Opened in. | 1941 as Army Camp Cooke, but it closed in 1953. It reopened as a AFB in 1957. |
| Closed in. | Still in use. |
| Operated by. | USAF 30th Space Wing. |
| Owned by. | The US Army 1941-57. The USAF/Air Force Space Command 1957 to date. |
| Outside links. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_3, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1999-068A, http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/ and http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base. |
Space rockets and ICBMs[]
The base has both atomic missile and military space facilities.
ICBMs[]
It also has a atomic missile launch site. The Wing's personnel also support the Air Force's Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Test and Evaluation program.
Space rockets []
The first space mission, flown on December 18, 1999, launched the Terra satellite. Vandenberg SLC-3E is one of it's 4 space rocket launch sites.
James Bond[]
A space shuttle full of US Space Marines was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in the James Bond film Moon Raker.
Namesakes[]
Camp Cooke was named in honor of the American Civil War Major General Phillip St. George Cooke. The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg.