Interesting......

[patgund]

I've always found the story of SLC-6 at Vandenberg AFB, (my dad was stationed at VAFB shortly before his retirement), an interesting one. And I wish I could have seen a shuttle launch from that site. *Sigh* Maybe just as well.....

Tribal Curse Haunts Launch Pad

"Can a launch pad be cursed? Engineers laugh -- but nervously.

An Air Force launch site called SLC-6 (pronounced "Slick-6") at Vandenberg Air Force Base has become legendary in aerospace circles for an eerie history of failed programs and botched launches.

Now on Tuesday, the Boeing Corporation will tempt fate and try to launch a new spy satellite from the unlucky site -- 40 years after the Air Force built the pad over an Indian burial ground in a rocky stretch of California desert."

Comments

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

I hope the launch goes well. Our company is supporting the launch, and we haven't had a failure in a long time.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Will keep fingers crossed!

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

Just checked my voicemail. The launch was successful, although it looked like it might be delayed due to high winds. It was the first significant launch for that complex.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Rocky stretch of California desert? These people have never BEEN to Vandenburg, have they. It's rocky, yeah, with some significantly steep hills. But it's not desert. It's an agricultural area, major flower growing, and lots of wooded areas - I used to go up the back ways and go horseback riding on parts of the base. I also worked on the base. Not desert. Scrubby, yes.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

(chuckle) I didn't write the copy, otherwise I would have called it "Coastal Scrub" like it actually *is*

[loli-cat.livejournal.com]

40 years would put it at 1966...I was under the impression that the military built a complex at Vandenburg in the late 70s for shuttle launches...is that true or was the existing complex modified for the shuttle? Also, isn't this the place where they launch spy sats on delta rockets? (ooops, yes it is, you said so in your post)

[patgund.livejournal.com]

SLC-6 was built for the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory programme, and mothballed then that programmed closed. It was then rebuilt for Shuttle, (matter of fact, the mission scheduled after Challenger was supposed to launch from SLC-6, but that was scrapped after the loss of that orbiter.

It was THEN modified for Athena, which was it's first lanch ever. That launch failed.

The Lewis spacecraft was launched from there and looked good, but a design problem doomed that craft. That was the first launch from SLC-6 that reached orbit.

Then the Ikonos private spy satellite launched - and ended up in the Pacific

Finally in late 1999 a sucessful launch of Athena took place. Soon afterwards Athena was canceled.

Now it's a Delta IV launch pad. No Delta IV launches yet..........

[loli-cat.livejournal.com]

Whew...that's sure stretching the laws of probability, alright...