Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4
SLC-4 with Falcon 9 on launch pad at SLC-4E in January 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Vandenberg Space Force Base | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | 34°37′59″N 120°36′47″W / 34.633°N 120.613°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTC−07:00 (PDT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short name | SLC-4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator |
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| Total launches | 293 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch pad(s) | 2 (1 became a landing zone for Falcon 9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbital inclination range | 55–145° | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) is a launch and landing site at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, U.S. It has two pads, both of which are used by SpaceX for Falcon 9, one for launch operations, and the other as Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) for SpaceX landings.
The complex was previously used by Atlas and Titan rockets between 1963 and 2005. It consisted of two launch pads: Space Launch Complex 4 West (SLC-4W, formerly PALC-2-3) and Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E, formerly PALC-2-4). Both pads were built for use by Atlas-Agena rockets, but were later rebuilt to handle Titan rockets. The designation SLC-4 was applied at the time of the conversion to launch Titan launch vehicles.
Both pads at Space Launch Complex 4 are currently leased by SpaceX. SLC-4E is leased as a launch site for the Falcon 9 rocket, which first flew from Vandenberg on 29 September 2013, following a 24-month refurbishment program which had started in early 2011. SpaceX began a five-year lease of Launch Complex 4 West in February 2015 in order to use that area as a landing pad to bring back VTVL return-to-launch-site (RTLS) first-stage boosters of the reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle. That pad was later named by SpaceX as Landing Zone 4 and first used operationally for a Falcon 9 booster landing in 2018.