Vandy Preps First Atlas V

Airmen and contractors at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., are preparing for the West Coast Launch Facility’s first launch of an Atlas V evolved expendable launch vehicle. It is scheduled for lift-off on Feb. 26. The Vandenberg space team already has launched an EELV, in fact two of them. The facility launched two Delta IV boosters in 2006 out of Space Launch Complex-6. The Atlas V will use SLC-3, which has undergone a $300 million refurbishment by United Launch Alliance to accommodate the larger booster. (30th Space Wing report by 2nd Lt. Raymond Geoffroy.)