Talk:Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3

History is lacking
The article seems to be missing pre-1999 history. What happened with SLC-3 prior to 1999 when Atlas came to SLC-3E, and sometime a bit later when Falcon 1 briefly used SLC-3W? N2e (talk) 01:36, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

A map would be useful
A map showing the relative positions of the various launch complexes at Vandenberg would be a useful addition to the article. N2e (talk) 19:32, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Is Space Launch Complex 3-West still active?
Since SpaceX no longer uses SLC-3 West and will be using a newly renovated SLC-4 for its Falcon 9 launches starting in 2012, should SLC-3 West be considered inactive? user:mnw2000 00:24, 24 April 2011 (UTC)
 * It is already listed as inactive? Where is the problem? -- G W … 08:20, 24 April 2011 (UTC)
 * At the Vandenberg Air Force Base article, the chart lists it as active:

Falcon 1 history
This paragraph has been in the article for some years, and tagged for a citation for 5 years. (Full disclosure: I may have been the one who requested the citation quite some time ago.)

I have no problem with the removal; I remove unsourced stuff from Wikipedia very regularly.

However, I may have found a source for this when I recently read the biography of Musk by Ashlee Vance. I don't have a copy available right now, so can't confirm. Therefore, I'm just placing the deleted paragraph here, for future ref if we can find a source.

"Several test firings of the Falcon 1 were accomplished before SpaceX discovered that due to the overflight risk they would not be allowed to launch from SLC-3W while launch vehicles were standing on adjacent launch sites. As one of the adjacent sites was at the time occupied by a 'pad queen' (a launch vehicle that sits on its launch pad for months or years before launch) the restriction caused SpaceX to abandon SLC-3W and instead develop their Omelek Island launch site for Falcon 1. SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk has stated that no compensation was paid to SpaceX over this issue."

Cheers. N2e (talk) 05:35, 5 July 2015 (UTC)


 * My understanding is that the issue in 2005 was with the payload of the final Titan IV, not the launch vehicle itself. Since Titan already had its payload, the AF wouldn't let F1 fly until after the Titan launch was complete and the Titan IV retired. That pushed the first launch of F1 from Vberg to Omelek. They had no intention of abandoning Vberg, but the AF and LM were looking to force the F1 launch site farther away from the Atlas 5 pad, to SLC-4, which is what happened. So the problem wasn't that they couldn't launch with other vehicles on nearby sites, it was specific to the final Titan IV, and combined with a forced move to SLC-4. My citation-fu fails me at the moment though and it was simpler to remove the paragraph  A ( Ch ) 06:30, 5 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Yeah, my momory is fuzzy on the detail as well, and I think it was best to remove the paragraph.  I'll get my hands on a borrowed copy of the Vance book again later this summer and will try to update the situation and cause if the source is sufficient.


 * One other thing for us to keep in mind, we may have somewhat different statements on "the cause" in different sources.  Moreover, there may always be a stated cause that may, or may not, be identical to the actual cause, given markeitng and the interests of various parties.  E.g., while it is convenient for a governmental organization to say "of course we could not take the risk" with our gabillion-dollar super-valuable payload, there have by now clearly been a number of reliable sources on some USAF insiders simply not wanting new competition for the existing incumbents in the US space industry.  So we have to be open to all, and of course use phrasing that doesn't say more than our source (when we locate it again) actually supports.  But you definitely did the right thing: removing the statement until it is sourced.  N2e (talk) 14:32, 5 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, and there was also a lot of speculation that LM wanted SpaceX moved to SLC-4 because they wanted to keep SLC-3W free for a potential second Atlas pad. I found a reference relating to the pad issues, but but unfortunately it doesn't contain many details or outcomes (eg: did the government pay SpaceX for their move to SLC-4?)  A ( Ch ) 19:39, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

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