Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4

Atlas-Agena The first launch from PALC2-4 occurred on 14 August 1964, when a KH-7 satellite was launched by an Atlas-Agena D. After 27 Atlas-Agena launches, the last of which was on 4 June 1967, the complex was deactivated. Titan IIID During 1971 the complex was reactivated and refurbished for use by the Martin Marietta Titan III launch vehicles. The Titan IIID made its maiden flight from SLC-4E on 15 June 1971, launching the first KH-9 Hexagon satellite. The first KH-11 Kennan satellite was launched from the complex on 19 December 1976. All 22 Titan IIIDs were launched from SLC-4E, with the last occurring on 17 November 1982. Titan 34D The complex was then refurbished to accommodate the Martin Marietta Titan 34D. Seven Titan 34Ds were launched between 20 June 1983, and 6 November 1988. SLC-4E hosted one of the most dramatic launch accidents in US history when a Titan 34D-9 carrying a KH-9 photoreconnaissance satellite exploded a few hundred feet above the pad on 18 April 1986. The enormous blast showered the launch complex with debris and toxic propellant (hydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide), resulting in extensive damage. 16 months after the accident, the pad was back in commission when it hosted a successful launch of a KH-11 satellite. Titan IV The last Titan variant to use the complex was the Titan IV, starting on 8 March 1991, with the launch of Lacrosse 2. On 19 October 2005, the last flight of a Titan rocket occurred, when a Titan IVB was launched from SLC-4E, with an Improved Crystal satellite. Following this launch, the complex was deactivated, having been used for 68 launches. Falcon 9 SpaceX refurbished SLC–4E for Falcon 9 launches in a 24-month process that began in early 2011. As the pad was nearing completion in February 2013, the first launch was scheduled for summer 2013, but was delayed until September 2013. == SLC-4W==

SLC-4W started operations in 1963 as Space Launch Complex 4W, and continued as an operational launch site through 2003. In 2015, SpaceX started conversion of the launch site into Landing Zone LZ-4. Landing operations commenced in 2018 at LZ-4. Atlas-Agena The first launch to use what is now SLC-4 occurred on 12 July 1963, when an Atlas LV-3 Agena-D launched the first KH-7 Gambit reconnaissance satellite, from PALC-2-3. Twelve Atlas-Agenas launches were conducted from PALC-2-3, with the last occurring on 12 March 1965. Titan IIIB Following this, it was rebuilt as SLC-4W, a Titan launch complex. The first Titan launch from SLC-4W was a Titan IIIB, on 29 July 1966. All 68 Titan IIIB launches occurred from SLC-4W, with the last on 12 February 1987. Titan 23G After the retirement of the Titan IIIB, it became a Titan 23G launch site, and twelve Titan II launches, using the 23G orbital configuration, were conducted between 5 September 1988 and 18 October 2003. Following the retirement of the Titan 23G, SLC-4W was deactivated. 93 rockets were launched from SLC-4W. SLC-4W was the site of the launch of Clementine, the only spacecraft to be launched from Vandenberg to the Moon, which was launched by a Titan 23G on 25 January 1994. ==LZ-4==

Development history SpaceX signed a five-year lease of Launch Complex 4W in February 2015, in order to use the area to land reusable launch vehicles at the pad. The location is being used for vertical landing of Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) first-stage boosters of the Falcon 9 rockets that are launched from the adjacent SLC-4E launch pad. This novel use of SLC-4W had initially surfaced in July 2014 when NASASpaceFlight.com published that SpaceX was considering leasing SLC-4W for use as a RTLS vertical-landing facility for reusable first-stage boosters. Principal structures on the pad were demolished in September 2014 as construction of the landing pad began and was completed sometime around 2017. Detailed landing history After performing return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landings at its two Cape Canaveral Space Force Station landing pads, Landing Zones 1 and 2, the company initially planned to attempt the first West Coast booster landing at Vandenberg AFB with the fourth Iridium NEXT satellite launch in December 2017, but ultimately opted for an expendable mission. In July 2018, SpaceX filed an FCC permit to communicate with a Falcon 9 first stage post-landing at SLC-4W, hinting at a potential RTLS landing, for the SAOCOM 1A mission. This launch was later rescheduled to October 8, 2018. == Launch and landing statistics ==

SLC-4E Atlas-Agena (1964–1967) All flights operated by the United States Air Force. Titan III and IV (1971–2005) All flights operated by the United States Air Force. Falcon 9 (2013–2024) All flights operated by SpaceX. Falcon 9 (since 2025) All flights operated by SpaceX. Upcoming launches SLC-4W and LZ-4 SLC-4W LZ-4 Atlas and Titan launches All flights prior to November 1963 operated by the United States Navy. All flights afterwards operated by the United States Air Force. Falcon 9 landings All landings operated by SpaceX. == Gallery ==

File:Titan IIID rocket.jpg|Titan IIID launch from SLC-4E File:Final Titan IV launch.jpg|Final Titan IV launch from SLC-4E in 2005 File:SpaceX Falcon 9.jpg|Inaugural mission of the Falcon 9 v1.1 from SLC-4E in September 2013 File:Iridium-1 Mission (31450835954).jpg|SLC-4 with Falcon 9 on launch pad at SLC-4E in January 2017 with Iridium NEXT satellites File:Titan 23G rocket.gif|A Titan 23G on SLC-4W File:SAOCOM 1A Mission (30234801997).jpg|The landing of SAOCOM 1A, the first landing at LZ-4 == Notes ==