VBGmedium airport

Vandenberg Space Force Base

Lompoc, United States

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ICAO

KVBG

Elevation

369 ft

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The Essence of Vandenberg Space Force Base

VBG

Location

Lompoc · CA · United States

Position

34.737°, -120.584° · 369 ft elev.

Visa & Entry

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A closer look

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Military and space launch facility on California's central coast.

Opened

1941

Location

Lompoc, United States

Vandenberg Space Force Base (VBG/KVBG) is a United States Space Force installation located near Lompoc, California, on the central coast. Originally established as Camp Cooke in 1941, it transitioned into a missile and space launch facility during the Cold War era and was redesignated following the creation of the U.S. Space Force in 2021. The airfield at Vandenberg supports military operations, government missions, and commercial space launch activities. It is a restricted military installation and does not serve commercial passenger airline traffic. The base is a critical launch site for polar-orbit and sun-synchronous satellite missions due to its coastal location allowing southward trajectories over the Pacific Ocean. Vandenberg has hosted launches by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and various government agencies including NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office. The facility plays a central role in U.S. national security space operations and increasingly in the commercial space industry.

Getting to & from

Access to Vandenberg Space Force Base is controlled and restricted; the nearest commercial airport is Santa Barbara Airport, accessible via Highway 1 and U.S. Route 101.

Notable facts

›Originally established as Camp Cooke in 1941 and later redesignated multiple times, becoming Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2021.
›Situated on California's central coast, enabling southward launches into polar and sun-synchronous orbits over the Pacific Ocean.
›Hosts launches by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and government agencies including NASA and the NRO.
›The base covers approximately 98,000 acres, making it one of the largest military installations in the United States.
›It is a restricted military installation with no scheduled commercial passenger air service.

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Encyclopaedia

Vandenberg Space Force Base, previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.

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