Titan 2 rocket's Vandenberg launch pad to be torn down
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: October 19, 2003

The curtain closed on the Titan 2 rocket era Saturday, and now plans are being formulated to deactivate and later tear down the booster's launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.


The Titan 2 rocket lifts off from SLC-4W on Saturday. Photo: Pat Corkery/Lockheed Martin
 
Space Launch Complex-4 West has been the starting point for all 13 converted Titan 2 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles flown since 1988. The former nuclear-tipped missiles were recycled by Lockheed Martin to boost satellites in space, racking up a 100 percent mission success record over the 15 years.

But with the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles now in service -- Boeing's Delta 4 and Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rockets -- the U.S. military is retiring its heritage boosters in favor of the next-generation launchers.

The transition to the future means some older launch pads are being phased out, including the Titan 2's home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The complex has been in use since the 1960s.

"It's been around for a long time. It's seen a lot of programs fly out of it. There are a lot memories there for a lot of people," said Lt. Col. Dave Thompson, the 2nd Space Launch Squadron commander at Vandenberg.

Under a $3 million Air Force contract, Lockheed Martin will "safe" the pad over the next two years, which includes work to remove hazardous systems like high-pressure gas lines and rocket propellant loading equipment.

"When that's done, what they will do is abandon the (pad) in place," Thompson said.


The SLC-4W pad will be decommissioned following the weekend's successful final Titan 2 launch. Photo: Pat Corkery/Lockheed Martin
 
Neighboring Space Launch Complex-4 East, the pad for much larger Titan 4 rockets, will see its final liftoff in February 2005. After that mission, SLC-4E will be safed.

In 2007, the Air Force will oversee efforts to dismantle the mobile service and umbilical towers of both the Titan 2 and Titan 4 pads. Safety concerns drive the decision to have the massive structures torn down.

"The Air Force has a history and background of disposing of launch towers and sites," said Col. John Insprucker, Titan program director.

Officials estimate it will cost $40 million to level both pads.

In addition, the Air Force will spend $180 million to close sites around the country that served the military's Titan program.

"It is a major undertaking," said Insprucker. "We're closing out 50 years of the Titan program. From an Air Force perspective no program office has ever really done that before.

"Titan is the first major weapon system we've really brought to the end of its service life in the rocket community."

That last Titan 4 rocket has been delivered to Vandenberg. It will be assembled on the pad next year in support of its classified mission carrying a National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft.

Flight data file
Vehicle: Titan 2 (G-9)
Payload: DMSP 5D-3-F16
Launch date: Oct. 18, 2003
Launch window: 1617-1627 GMT (12:17-12:27 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB, California
Satellite broadcast: none

Pre-launch briefing
Mission preview - Our story recapping the saga of the DMSP F16 satellite and the series of problems that have kept it grounded.

Titan 2 finale - Our story looking at the last Titan 2 rocket launch.

Launch timeline - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch.

DMSP - General overview of the U.S. military weather satellite program.

Titan 2 - Description of the former ICBM missile converted to a space launch vehicle.

Titan 2 history - Chart with listing of previous Titan 2 SLV flights.


Apollo Collage
This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
 U.S. STORE

STS-127 Patch
The official embroidered patch for shuttle Endeavour's flight to finish building Japanese section of the space station.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE



Hubble Patch
The official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Project Orion
The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.
 U.S. STORE


Fallen Heroes Patch Collection
The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Apollo 11 special patch
Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Inside Apollo mission control
An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.
 Choose your store:
U.S.

The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD
This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Next ISS crew
Own a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew. We'll ship yours today!
 Choose your store:
U.S.

Viking patch
Available now from the Astronomy Now Store: the embroidered mission patch for NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Mars Rover mission patch
A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is now available from the Astronomy Now Store.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Columbia Report
A reproduction of the official accident investigation report into the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Mars Panorama

DISCOUNTED! This 360 degree image was taken by the Mars Pathfinder, which landed on the Red Planet in July 1997. The Sojourner Rover is visible in the image.
 Choose your store:
U.S.

Apollo 11 Mission Report
Apollo 11 - The NASA Mission Reports Vol. 3 is the first comprehensive study of man's first mission to another world is revealed in all of its startling complexity. Includes DVD!
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Rocket DVD
If you've ever watched a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg Air Force Base or even Kodiak Island Alaska, there's no better way to describe what you witnessed than with this DVD.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Gemini 12
Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Get e-mail updates
Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose).
Enter your e-mail address:
MISSION STATUS CENTER

INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE

ADVERTISE

© 2009 Spaceflight Now Inc.