VANDENBERG / LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – SpaceX has received approval to increase the launch frequency at Vandenberg Air Force Base and activate a new launch site for Falcon Heavy rockets. This marks a significant step for space activities on the West Coast of the United States.
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The US Air Force has granted SpaceX permission to increase the launch frequency at Vandenberg Air Force Base and activate the SLC-6 launch site for Falcon Heavy rockets. This is a significant step as it is the first time that Falcon Heavy rockets will be able to launch from California. Previously, the only launch site for these rockets was the LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The approval includes an increase in expected launches from the US West Coast from 50 to 95 per year. The new SLC-6 launch site will be SpaceX’s fourth Falcon launch site and will enable it to launch both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. That decision came after the Air Force deemed the national security benefits of such an increase to be more important than the potential environmental impacts.
SLC-6 was originally intended to be the launch site for the West Coast Space Shuttle, a plan that was abandoned after the Challenger disaster and rising costs. The launch site was later used by the United Launch Alliance for Delta IV rockets before SpaceX took over the lease to convert it for Falcon launches. SpaceX has also taken over the Delta IV launch site SLC-37 on the east coast.
SpaceX plans to begin SLC-6 launches next year, with the number of Falcon Heavy launches increasing to up to five per year by 2027. This is a significant step for the West Coast space industry as it increases flexibility and capacity for future missions. Although many of the missions originally planned for Falcon Heavy are now carried out on Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy remains an important part of SpaceX’s launch capabilities.
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