Vandenberg Space Force Base and a Shuttle With Oversized Wings
How Vandenberg Space Force Base Influenced Space Shuttle Design
Vandenberg Space Force Base (I still keep wanting to say Air Force Base, but anyway) is located near Lompoc, California. This iconic location has a rich history. Established in 1941 as Camp Cooke and later renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1958, it has served as a pivotal site for missile and satellite launches. In 2021, it was renamed Vandenberg Space Force Base, reflecting its critical role in the United States Space Force’s mission.
Lompoc, California, was chosen as the headquarters for the Foundation for the Advancement of Space Settlement (FASS) in part due to its proximity to Vandenberg Space Force Base. This strategic location allows the foundation to leverage the advanced space launch facilities and the rich aerospace heritage of Vandenberg, making it an ideal site for training, research, and development.
Vandenberg Space Force Base has played a significant role as a test site for both missile and space vehicle launches. Initially, it was used for training Army infantry and armoured divisions. During the Cold War, its strategic coastal location made it an ideal site for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The base’s role expanded to include space launches.
Vandenberg’s location on the California coast makes it uniquely suitable for polar launches. Polar orbits require a north-south trajectory, and launching from Vandenberg allows rockets to travel southward over the Pacific Ocean. This trajectory ensures that if any issues occur during launch, debris will fall into the ocean rather than populated areas, maximising safety.
Polar orbits are significant for reconnaissance satellites because they allow the satellite to pass over the entire surface of the Earth as the planet rotates beneath it. This capability is crucial for military applications, particularly for global surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Vandenberg was chosen to be the West Coast launch site for the Space Shuttle program due to its ideal location for polar orbits. However, the plan to launch shuttles from Vandenberg never materialised. The Challenger disaster in 1986 led to a reevaluation of shuttle launch operations, focusing on enhancing safety and reducing risks, which ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the Vandenberg launch site plans.
However, the U.S. Air Force had a substantial impact on the design of the Space Shuttle, driven by specific requirements for military missions. One of the most significant design influences was the need for extended cross-range capability. This capability allowed the shuttle to glide and manoeuvre after re-entering the atmosphere, enabling it to land at various locations, including a return to the launch site after a single orbit.
This extended cross-range capability was necessary for missions that involved launching into polar orbits. Due to the Earth’s rotation, a shuttle in a polar orbit would find its launch site has moved significantly by the time it completes one orbit. To return to Vandenberg, the shuttle needed the ability to cover this distance or around 1,100 nautical miles. This was achieved by designing it with larger wings and control surfaces. These oversized wings provided the necessary lift and aerodynamic control during re-entry and landing.
Beyond the cross-range capability, the Air Force influenced several other aspects of the shuttle’s design, such as the cargo bay size. The shuttle’s cargo bay was designed to be large enough to accommodate a variety of payloads, including military satellites and other equipment. Specifically, it needed to accommodate large reconnaissance satellites like the KH-11.
One of the more intriguing proposed military uses of the shuttle was the potential to capture enemy satellites. In a hypothetical mission, the shuttle could be launched into a polar orbit, rendezvous with an enemy satellite, capture it, and return to Vandenberg within one orbit. This would minimise the chance of the enemy detecting and responding to the mission before the shuttle could re-enter and land.
Although the shuttle never launched from Vandenberg, the Air Force’s requirements left a lasting impact on its design. The larger wings and enhanced cross-range capability became defining features of the shuttle, reflecting the multifaceted demands placed on this versatile spacecraft. Today, Vandenberg Space Force Base continues to be a hub for space launches, supporting both military and commercial missions. Its history as a potential shuttle launch site remains a fascinating chapter in the story of space exploration.
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Nice forgotten history Alex. The Space Shuttle was born of many political compromises, which greatly influenced its design. It also made the craft larger and more complex than it otherwise would have been.
I think the case can be made that, had NASA and NASA alone designed the Shuttle for their limited requirements, it would have been far more successful.
Political interference is just one of the reasons why SpaceX is proving them all wrong. The current SLS rocket, as I have written, features parts, chosen by Senators in Congress, that NASA tries to stitch together into a workable rocket. The SLS will go down in history as one of the worst investments in NASAs history.