KSC-04-S-00098
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Source: images.nasa.gov
Video source record: https://images.nasa.gov/details-van_040804_why
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Summary
| Description | Why Vandenberg? Vandenberg Air Force Base is home to NASA's west coast launch facility. Located along California's central coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was once even considered for a second Shuttle launch and landing site. Vandenberg spans 86-thousand acres with a mountainous region to the south and an arid, desert landscape to the north. It is nestled between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the foothills of the Santa Ynez mountains to the east. The barren, sandy area disguises it as one of North America's gateways to the universe. You may ask why NASA needs a launch site on the west coast. Well, there's really a good reason. Plenty of launches take place on the east coast, from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. However, launching a spacecraft north or south from the Cape would require it to fly over populated land, which NASA wants to avoid. So, launches from Cape Canaveral tend to be spacecraft requiring a west-east orbit. Vandenberg's location all |
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| Date | 2004-04-14 |
| Source | images.nasa.gov |