Dropping the hammerhead

VANDENBERG AIR FACE BASE, Calif. -- Construction crews began tearing down the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex-4 East in preparation for the Space Exploration Technologies Falcon Heavy mission here, Aug. 2, 2011. The Falcon Heavy, which is touted to be the most powerful vehicle in the world since the Saturn V moon rocket, is expected to have about four million pounds of thrust and the ability to carry payloads weighing more than 53 metric tons. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Levi Riendeau)

Dropping the hammerhead

VANDENBERG AIR FACE BASE, Calif. -- Construction crews began tearing down the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex-4 East in preparation for the Space Exploration Technologies Falcon Heavy mission here, Aug. 2, 2011. The Falcon Heavy, which is touted to be the most powerful vehicle in the world since the Saturn V moon rocket, is expected to have about four million pounds of thrust and the ability to carry payloads weighing more than 53 metric tons. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Levi Riendeau)

Vandenberg welcomes SpaceX

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Col. Richard Boltz, the 30th Space Wing commander, speaks during the ground breaking ceremony at Space Launch Complex 4 East here Wednesday, July 14, 2011. SpaceX has plans to launch their Falcon Heavy from Vandenberg in 2013. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andrew Satran)

Vandenberg welcomes SpaceX

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Lompoc Mayor John Linn, speaks during the ground breaking ceremony at Space Launch Complex 4 East here Wednesday, July 14, 2011. SpaceX has plans to launch their Falcon Heavy from Vandenberg in 2013. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andrew Satran)

Minuteman III burns through fog at Vandenberg

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg launched an unarmed operational test Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at 6:35 a.m., Wednesday, June 22, 2011 from Launch Facility-10 here. The missile's single reentry test vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles to a pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. (U.S. Air Force photo/Joe Davila)

Team Vandenberg launches Delta II rocket

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg launched a Delta II rocket carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) observatory from Space Launch Complex-2 here at 7:20 a.m. PDT Friday, June 10, 2011. The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE). Aquarius is the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, built by CONAE. Aquarius will map global changes in salinity -- the concentration of dissolved salt -- at the ocean surface. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Lael Huss)

Vandenberg's 4th Atlas V lifts off

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg launched an Atlas V from Space Launch Complex-3 here April 14 at 9:24 p.m. PDT. It was the fourth Atlas V processed at Vandenberg and the 605th overall Atlas mission in U.S. history. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Lael Huss)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.

An Orbital Sciences Titan XL launched from Vandenberg pad 576E March 4 carrying a NASA payload. The launch proceeded as planned from its liftoff at 2:09 a.m. PST through the ignition of the Taurus XL's second stage. Telemetry indicated the fairing, a protective shell atop the rocket, did not separate as expected during the second stage engine burn. The Glory spacecraft likely fell into the Pacific Ocean. The Glory Earth-observinc satellite was intended to improve understanding o fhow the sun and tiny atmospheric particles affect Earth's climate. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Joe Davila)

Vandenberg to launch Taurus XL

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--The Taurus XL rocket stands on pad 576-E during preparations for a Feb. 23 launch. The rocket will carry the spacecraft Glory into polar orbit for NASA.

Vandenberg launches Minotaur I

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Minotaur I rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex-8 here at 4:26 a.m. (PST) Feb. 6.The rocket carried a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. (U.S. Air Force photo/Joe Davila)

Delta II COSMO - SkyMed 4

(Photo by Joe Davila)

Vandenberg launches Minotaur IV

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg launched a Minotaur IV rocket at 9:41 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, from Space Launch Complex-8 here.The Minotaur IV launched the Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite, a first-of-its-kind satellite that can detect and track orbiting space objects from space. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Lee)