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COLORADO SPRINGS—The U.S. Space Force has picked Blue Origin to advance in discussions to lease Space Launch Complex-14 (SLC-14) at Vandenberg SFB, California, for heavy or super-heavy vertical launch operations, the service announced April 14.
Space Launch Delta 30 (SLD 30), which manages launch operations at Vandenberg, issued a request for information (RFI) in December regarding a lease for SLC-14. After assessing an undisclosed number of bids, Blue Origin was recently selected to move ahead with environmental impact and safety analyses to launch its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket from the Western Range, SLD 30 Commander Col. James Horne told reporters here at the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium.
Blue Origin is one of three launch providers selected to support National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions under the service’s newer Phase 3, Lane 2 approach. It requires full vehicle certification, the ability to reach any orbit to meet mission needs and launch site access from both the West Coast and the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral SFS. Blue Origin is moving through its certification process and has launched New Glenn twice from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. Its third flight is targeted for April 15.
Horne said Blue Origin’s pace of maturing New Glenn’s technology was “very encouraging to us,” and credited the company’s prior experience in building a launchpad at the Cape as another key factor in its win.
“We’re working with a partner that understands how to build launchpads, environmentally sensitive areas,” he said.
The SLC-14 selection revolved around the technical maturity and financial viability of the bidding company and their specific launch vehicle, “but the primary consideration is always national security for any decisions,” Horne said, noting that the solicitation was open to any interested party.
SLC-14 is an undeveloped area at the very south of Vandenberg, and was deemed the most viable site on the base for heavy and super-heavy launch operations.
SLD 30 and Blue Origin will now move ahead with safety and environmental analyses, followed by infrastructure development, the Space Force said in an April 14 news release. The typical process can take about two years, but the service will move “as quickly as we can,” Horne said.
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