October 5, 1941 Camp Cooke, the future site of Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California, was activated as an armored and infantry division training installation for the U.S. Army.

February 1, 1946 Camp Cooke placed on an inactive status.

August 7, 1950 Camp Cooke reactivated for the Korean War.

February 1, 1953 Camp Cooke again inactivated.

November 16, 1956 The Secretary of Defense directed the United States Army to transfer 64,000 acres of Camp Cooke’s 86,000 acres to the Air Force.

January 1957 The Air Force obtained a use permit for its new facility at Camp Cooke.

February 15, 1957 The 6591st Support Squadron (Air Force), assigned to Air Research and Development Command, was organized at Camp Cooke.

April 15, 1957 Air Research and Development Command (later Air Force Systems Command) activated HQ, lst Missile Division at Los Angeles, California, and HQ 392nd Air Base Group at Camp Cooke. At the same time it inactivated the 6591st Support Squadron at Cooke.

May 8, 1957 Start of new facility construction and major renovation at Camp Cooke.

June 7, 1957 The Air Force portion of Camp Cooke redesignated Cooke Air Force Base.

June 21, 1957 Approximately 64,047 acres (100 square miles) of the former Camp Cooke was officially transferred from the Army to the Air Force.

July 1, 1957 Air Research and Development Command activated the 704th Strategic Missile Wing (Atlas) at Cooke AFB.

July 16, 1957 Headquarters 1st Missile Division relocated from Los Angeles to Cooke AFB.

August 1, 1957 1st Missile Division assumed operational control of the 704th Strategic Missile Wing at Vandenberg AFB.

December 7, 1957 The Secretary of Defense directed the transfer of South Camp Cooke (almost 20,000 acres) from the Army to the Navy for use in a projected national missile range on the West Coast.

January 1, 1958 Cooke AFB along with its major operational and training units were transferred from Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) to the Strategic Air Command. Launch facility construction and launch vehicle research and development activities at Cooke AFB remained the responsibility of ARDC’s Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, headquartered at Inglewood, California).

February 14, 1958 On this day 19,861 acres of South Camp Cooke transferred from the Army to the Navy on an interim permit basis (actual transfer on 27 May).

March 5, 1958 The Joint Navy-Air Force (Burke-White) Agreement was completed. This agreement defined the areas of responsibility between the planned Pacific Missile Range and Cooke Air Force Base.

October 4, 1958 Cooke AFB redesignated Vandenberg AFB, honoring the late General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the Air Force’s second Chief of Staff.

December 16, 1958 First missile launch from Vandenberg AFB, a Thor intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM).

February 28, 1959 World’s first polar orbiting satellite (Discoverer I) launched from first Thor/Agena booster/upper stage combination from Vandenberg AFB.

September 9, 1959 First West Coast launch of an Atlas (12D). Afterwards, General Thomas S. Power, Commander in Chief of Strategic Air Command, declared the Atlas system to be operational.

July 1, 1960 Major expansion of Pacific Missile Range with acquisition of Eniwetok and Kwajalein Atolls in the Marshall Islands by the United States Navy for instrumentation complexes in support of Air Force launches from Vandenberg AFB.

August 10, 1960 A Thor/Agena A launched from Vandenberg AFB placed Discoverer XIII into orbit. On 11 August, the data capsule was ejected and recovered by Pacific Missile Range ship Longview. This marked the first successful recovery of a man-made object ejected from an orbiting satellite.

October 11, 1960 First Vandenberg launch of an Atlas/Agena space booster.

October 20, 1960 Air Force Ballistic Missile Division Field Office at Vandenberg AFB replaced by the 6565th Test Wing.

May 3, 1961 The nation’s first silo launch of a Titan I was conducted at Vandenberg AFB.

July 21, 1961 The lst Missile Division (SAC) at Vandenberg was redesignated lst Strategic Aerospace Division (1 STRAD).

October 4, 1961 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Vandenberg AFB for an orientation and tour of the base.

November 1, 1961 The 6565th Test Wing was redesignated the 6595th Aerospace Test Wing.

March 23, 1962 President John F. Kennedy visited Vandenberg AFB to witness the launch of Atlas 134D, and to tour other missile sites.

April 26, 1962 The first Scout rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB.

June 18, 1962 Last launch of a Thor IRBM from Vandenberg.

June 26, 1962 First launch of an Army Nike-Zeus from Kwajalein against an Atlas from Vandenberg AFB.

August 1, 1962 First launch of an Atlas F ICBM from Vandenberg AFB.

September 28, 1962 Initial launch of a Minuteman I from Vandenberg AFB.

September 28, 1962 The first international satellite launched from Vandenberg was Canada’s Alouette. The spacecraft was lifted into orbit by a Thor/Agena booster.

February 16, 1963 The first launch of a Titan II ICBM from an underground silo at Vandenberg.

February 28, 1963 First flight of a Thrust-Augmented-Thor/Agena space booster from Vandenberg.

September 28, 1963 Initial launch of Thor/Able-Star from Vandenberg.

November 4, 1963 First launch in the Advanced Ballistic Reentry System (ABRES) program at Vandenberg AFB. Vehicle used for this mission was an Atlas D.

November 16, 1963 To improve management and operation of DoD Ranges and Flight Test Facilities, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara directed several changes including establishment within the Air Force of a central authority to coordinate planning of ICBM and space vehicle launching and tracking, and transfer to the Air Force major portions of the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range, including its facility at Point Arguello, California.

January 2, 1964 Headquarters Air Force Systems Command established a Headquarters National Range Division (Provisional) at Patrick AFB, Florida, and an Air Force Space Test Center (Provisional) at Vandenberg AFB.

January 25, 1964 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s ECHO II passive communications satellite, placed in a near-polar orbit by a Thor/Agena B launched from Vandenberg AFB, included among its tests one-way transmissions from England to Russia. First cooperative space program between Russia and the United States.

May 15, 1964 A Headquarters National Range Division was activated at Andrews AFB, Maryland, with detachments at Patrick AFB and Los Angeles AFB. The NRD was to coordinate launch and range activities at the Eastern and Western Test Ranges. The ranges were established by the same order. At Vandenberg, a HQ Air Force Western Test Range replaced the provisional Space Test Center. At Patrick AFB, Florida, the HQ Air Force Missile Test Center was redesignated as HQ Air Force Eastern Test Range.

July 1, 1964 The Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello, consisted of nearly 20,000 acres, transferred from the Navy to the Air Force, and was annexed to Vandenberg AFB.

January 18, 1965 The first Vandenberg launch of a Thor/Altair space booster.

February 1, 1965 Five months ahead of the original schedule, Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR) assumed responsibilities for intercontinental ballistic missile and space vehicle support functions from the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range. Fixed and mobile facilities transferred included the former PMR instrumentation complex at Point Arguello, south of Vandenberg; Pillar Point (near San Francisco), South Point and Kokee Park (Hawaii), Midway and Wake Islands, Canton Island, Eniwetok Atoll (including Bikini Atoll) in the Marshall Islands, and six range instrumentation ships.

March 5, 1965 Last launch of a Titan I from Vandenberg AFB.

April 3, 1965 The Atomic Energy Commission’s SNAPSHOT spacecraft carrying Snap10A nuclear reactor, was successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB by an Atlas/Agena. The on-board reactor provided electrical power for a 2.2-lb ion engine, marking the first attempt to test a reactor-ion system in orbit.

June 1, 1965 Transfer of Kokee Park Tracking Station in Hawaii from Air Force Western Test Range to NASA.

August 18, 1965 The first launch of a Minuteman II from Vandenberg AFB.

August 25, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson approved development of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. The Titan III manned operation would be launched from the Air Force Eastern and Western Test Ranges.

Nobember 28, 1965 Last Thor/Agena launch from Vandenberg AFB.

March 1, 1966 The Air Force acquired Sudden Ranch adjacent to South Vandenberg, adding approximately 14,890 acres to the base and increasing its size to its present 99,000 acres.

March 12, 1966 Start of construction for Space Launch Complex 6, Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program facilities at former Sudden Ranch property on South Vandenberg.

March 30, 1966 Final launch of the Thor/Altair from Vandenberg AFB.

July 29, 1966 First launch of a Titan IIIB/Agena space booster was conducted from Vandenberg AFB.

August 9, 1966 First launch of a Long Tank Thor/Agena D (Thorad/Agena D) space booster from Vandenberg.

September 15, 1966 First launch of a Thor/Burner II from Vandenberg AFB.

October 2, 1966 The first Thor/Delta launch from Vandenberg AFB.

December 29, 1966 Liftoff of a Thrust-Augmented-Thor/Agena D space booster marked the 123d major launch operation from Vandenberg AFB since January 1966. This record of total launches for the year remains unbroken.

January 11, 1966 The first and only launch of a Castor/Scramjet from Vandenberg AFB.

February 21, 1966 Vice President Hubert Humphrey, accompanied by his wife and a small entourage, viewed a Minuteman I ripple launch from Vandenberg.

August 16, 1966 The first of two Atlas/Burner II space launches from Vandenberg AFB.

April 11, 1969 The first Minuteman III flight test missile was launched from Vandenberg AFB.

June 10, 1969 The Department of Defense announced cancellation of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg AFB.

June 8, 1970 Headquarters Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC) was activated at Vandenberg AFB. HQ Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR) inactivated (personnel reassigned to SAMTEC). The 6595th Aerospace Test Wing assigned to SAMTEC. The 6555th Aerospace Test Wing (Patrick AFB, Florida) redesignated 6555th Aerospace Test Group and reassigned to the 6595th Aerospace Test Wing. The title “ Western Test Range” retained to identify a national missile range in the Pacific.

June 15, 1971 Initial launch of a Titan IIID space booster from Vandenberg AFB.

October 14, 1971 The first of eight Thor/Burner IIA launches from Vandenberg AFB.

February 1, 1972 Headquarters National Range Division at Andrews AFB was discontinued.

January 1, 1975 The USNS Sunnyvale, the last of eleven Air Force Western Test Range instrumentation ships, transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

June 27, 1976 Last launch of a Titan II ICBM from Vandenberg AFB.

December 20 – 21, 1977 The worse fire in Vandenberg AFB history, consumed 9,040 acres of south base and claimed he lives of the base commander, both fire chiefs, and three weeks later a civilian bulldozer operator who was injured in the blaze.

January 1979 Demolition and construction work began at Space Launch Complex 6 in preparation for the Space Shuttle program.

October 1, 1979 The Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC) was redesignated Space and Missile Test Organization (SAMTO). At the same time the Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) and the Western Space and Missile Center (WSMC) were created and assigned to SAMTO. SAMTO and WSMC were collocated at Vandenberg AFB.

July 15, 1980 The new base exchange opened for business at Vandenberg.

November 5, 1980 A crowd of approximately 15,000 people attended Vandenberg’s Veterans Day “Open House” celebration which featured the Air Force Thunderbirds’ air show. Parked aircraft available for sightseeing included World War II models as well as contemporary A-10 Thunderbolt and F-16 Hawk aircraft.

June 23, 1981 A National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) C satellite (once in space redesignated as NOAA-7), was placed in orbit by the last Atlas F booster to be launched from Vandenberg. This ended a string of 80 Atlas F launches since August 1, 1962.

October 23, 1981 Astronauts Robert L. Crippen, pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and Dr. Joseph P. Allen attended a series of briefings on the upcoming shuttle activities at Vandenberg.

November 17, 1982 The last launch of a Titan IIID from Vandenberg AFB.

February 9, 1983 The first of five Atlas H space boosters was launched from Vandenberg.

June 17, 1983 The first Peacekeeper (MX) missile was launched from Vandenberg.

June 20, 1983 The first of seven Titan 34D vehicles to be launched from Vandenberg AFB was launched on this day.

November 6 – 8, 1983 The Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery visited Vandenberg AFB for a series of fit checks at the orbiter lifting frame.

November 16, 1984 The Space Shuttle orbiter Enterprise arrived at Vandenberg AFB for a series of facility verification tests.

August 23, 1985 The first Peacekeeper ICBM “cold launch” was conducted from an underground silo (LF08) at Vandenberg. The first eight flights were from an above ground launch stand at Test Pad 01

October 15, 1985 Space Launch Complex 6, site of the future Space Shuttle launch complex, was declared operational. However, much additional work and testing was still required.

October 22, 1985 The first and only Ground Launch Cruise Missile was fired from Vandenberg AFB.

July 31, 1986 Secretary of the Air Force Edwin C. Aldridge, Jr., announced that the Vandenberg Space Shuttle program would be placed in operational caretaker status, seven months after the Space Shuttle Challenger accident.

February 11, 1987 The last launch of the Titan IIIB/Agena.

February 20, 1987 The Space Shuttle program’s Space Launch Complex 6 was placed in minimum caretaker status.

May 13, 1988 Air Force Secretary Edward C. Aldridge, Jr., directed the Air Force to transfer Space Shuttle assets at Vandenberg AFB to other organizations by 30 September 1989. (The work was completed ten days ahead of schedule.)

September 5, 1988 The first Titan II space launch vehicle (SLV), a refurbished and modified Titan II ICBM, was launched from Vandenberg AFB.

November 6, 1988 The final launch of a Titan 34D from Vandenberg AFB.

May 11, 1989 The initial launch of the Small ICBM from Vandenberg.

September 20, 1989 Space Launch Complex 6 was placed on mothball status.

October 1, 1989 HQ SAMTO was inactivated.

October 5, 1989 The first attempt by a commercial firm, American Rocket Company (AMROC), to launch its SET-l/SMLV (Single Engine Test - 1/Single Module Launch Vehicle) failed on the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB.

December 26, 1989 The Air Force officially terminated the Space Shuttle program at Vandenberg AFB. The estimated cost of the Shuttle program at Vandenberg was $4 billion.

June 6, 1990 Peacekeeper Rail Garrison system facilities were completed at Vandenberg AFB.

July 6, 1990 Lockheed Space Operations Company was awarded an Air Force ground system contract to modify Space Launch Complex 6 to a Titan IV/Centaur launch complex. Site work was scheduled to begin in late fiscal year 1992, and lead to initial launch capability in FY 1996.

August 1990 Troops from the 30th Space Wing began deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield in the war against Iraq.

August 5, 1990 The first flight of the air-launched Pegasus space booster employing a B-52 carrier aircraft over the Western Range. The aircraft staged from Edwards AFB, California.

October 1, 1990 WSMC and ESMC were realigned from Air Force Systems Command to Air Force Space Command. Simultaneously, 9th Space Division activated at Patrick AFB, Florida, to coordinate activities of both organizations. Also, the 2d Space Launch Squadron was activated at Vandenberg and assigned to WSMC. The 2d SLS was formerly the Atlas Division of the 6595th Aerospace Test Group.

January 15, 1991 Host base responsibilities for Vandenberg AFB transferred from the Strategic Air Command to Air Force Space Command. Additionally, the 4392nd Aerospace Support Wing, the 392nd Communications Group, and the base hospital were reassigned to WSMC, the new host organization.

March 8, 1991 The first Vandenberg launch of a Titan IV space booster.

March 22, 1991 HQ USAF announced termination of the planned Titan IV/Centaur program at SLC-6. The project was canceled because of “insufficient Titan IV launch requirements from the West Coast to support the construction of a new launch pad.” The contract with Lockheed was closed out several months later.

April 18, 1991 The second and final launch of the Small ICBM missile from Vandenberg.

July 24, 1991 Vice President Danforth Quayle visited Vandenberg AFB.

September 30, 1991 The 9th Space Division that oversaw activities at WSMC and ESMC, was inactivated at Patrick AFB, Florida.

November 19, 1991 WSMC and ESMC were redesignated the 30th Space Wing and 45th Space Wing, respectively.

July 1, 1993 HQ AFSPC activated HQ Fourteenth Air Force and assigned the unit to Vandenberg AFB. At the same time, Air Combat Command’s 310th Training and Test Wing at Vandenberg was reassigned to the 30th Space Wing.

February 4, 1994 Initial demonstration flight of the Astrid (Advanced Single Stage Rapid Insertion) interceptor vehicle from Vandenberg.

March 13, 1994 The first launch of the Taurus space booster from Vandenberg.

March 16, 1995 The Western Commercial Space Center signed a 25-year lease with the Air Force, retroactive to March 6, 1995, enabling the company to begin development of its spaceport facilities on South Vandenberg AFB.

April 15, 1994 Formerly the Titan Division of the 6595th Aerospace Test Group and more recently Detachment 9, Space and Missile Systems Center, this organization was transferred to the 30th Space Wing and activated as the 4th Space Launch Squadron.

May 8, 1994 The last launch of the Scout booster from Vandenberg AFB.

March 24, 1995 The final launch of an Atlas E booster from Vandenberg AFB, ended the last of the first-generation Atlas heritage systems.

April 3, 1995 The eighth air-launched Pegasus rocket carrying two commercial communications satellites and a scientific satellite was the first Pegasus mission to be fully integrated and flown from Vandenberg AFB. All previous Pegasus missions originated from Edwards AFB, California. This was also the first successful launch of a commercial satellite from Vandenberg.

August 15, 1995 The first launch from Space Launch Complex 6 involved the Lockheed’s Launch Vehicle I (LLV-1), carrying the commercial communications satellite GEMSTAR.

October 26, 1995 A ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new military family housing project at Vandenberg was held at 114 Hillside Circle.

February 22, 1996 The 576th Flight Test Squadron was administratively reassigned from the 30th Operations Group to the Space Warfare Center, headquartered at Falcon, AFB, Colorado.

October 22, 1996 The 30th Space Wing hosted an activation ceremony for the newly constructed Space Launch Complex 3 East pad to be used for Atlas II space boosters. The $300 million facility replaced the original structure built in 1959.

May 5, 1997 The first five of a planned 66-satellite constellation for the Iridium global communications system was launched on a single McDonnell Douglas Delta 2 booster from Vandenberg AFB.

May 18, 1998 The 4th Space Launch Squadron was deactivated and merged into the 2d Space Launch Squadron.

June 10, 1999 Major Karen L. Cox was assigned commander of the 76th Helicopter Flight (30th Space Wing). With her appointment, Major Cox became the first Air Force female to command a helicopter flight.

June 28, 1999 The new Visitors Control Center was completed at the main gate of Vandenberg AFB.

September 1, 1999 The Boeing Corporation received a lease from the Air Force to modify Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg AFB for its proposed Delta IV space booster.

December 6, 1999 The 30th Space Wing was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for meritorious service from January 1 1998 to September 30, 1999.

December 18, 1999 The first Vandenberg launch of an Atlas IIAS was successfully conducted from the new Space Launch Compex 3 East. Lockheed Martin Corporation launched the vehicle, carrying the Terra satellite for NASA.

January 22, 2000 The 140-foot high, 400-ton mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 3 West was taken down to make room for possible future site use.

March 23, 2000 The Honda Point memorial anchor, dedicated to the September 8, 1923 naval shipwreck disaster, was transferred from Vandenberg AFB to the Lompoc Valley Historical Society.

May 19, 2000 A ground breaking ceremony was held at Vandenberg for the privately-funded Korean War Memorial, honoring California’s National Guard unit the 40th Infantry Division. The completed cenotaph was dedicated on September 1, 2000.

April 17, 2001 A full-scale replica of a World War II Curtiss P-40E aircraft was dedicated outside the Headquarters Building honoring the famed “Flying Tigers,” later assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force.

May 6–10, 2001 The eighth annual Guardian Challenge space and missile competition (34th missile competition) was held at Vandenberg. The 30th Space Wing won the Schriever Trophy for the Best Spacelift Operations Wing in Air Force Space Command. The wing also won best Spacelift Maintenance Team and best Spacelift Operations Team, and the 76th Helicopter Flight won Best Helicopter Crew.

May 22, 2001 Air Force Space Command announced the 2d Space Launch Squadron as winner of the 2000 Gen Donald J. Kutyna Award for the best space lift squadron in the command.

May 22, 2001 The 30th Space Wing was selected for Air Force Space Command’s Gen Robert T. Herres Award as the command’s best space wing.

May 22, 2001 The 30th Space Wing was selected as the 2000 winner of the Gen Thomas S. Moorman Jr., Award as the best space wing in Air Force Space Command.

May 30, 2001 The 30th Space Wing received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the period January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000.

March 9, 2002 The base mobile home park officially closed though utilities remained on through September.

May 6–9 2002 The ninth annual Guardian Challenge space and missile competition was held at Vandenberg AFB. The 30th Space Wing Team retained the Schriever Trophy as the Best Spacelift Operations Wing in Air Force Space Command for the second year in a row. The Wing also won as the best Space Lift Operations Crew and best Spacelift Maintenance Team.

November 14, 2002 The first foreign-built launch vehicle, a Scud missile, was successfully launched from its transporter-erector-launcher at Vandenberg AFB. The second of two Scud missiles was launched on November 25th.

June 22, 2003 The AN/TPQ-39 radar on north Vandenberg was transferred to the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground Test center in Arizona.

July 11, 2003 The 30th Space Wing awarded InDyne, Inc., the contract to operate the Western Range. InDyne replaced ITT Industries which had held the range contract under various names since 1959.

October 18, 2003 The 13th and final launch of a Titan II Space Launch Vehicle (SLV), carrying defense weather satellite, was conducted from Vandenberg AFB.

December 1, 2003 As part of a reorganization affecting the 45th Space Wing in Florida, and the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg, the 1st Air and Space Test Squadron was activated, and the 4th Space launch Squadron was reactivated at Vandenberg.

December 1, 2003 A new Missile Transport Bridge, spanning the San Antonio Creek on north Vandenberg, was completed.

December 2, 2003 The third and final Atlas IIAS launch was conducted from Vandenberg.

May 2–7 2004 Nearly 200 competitors from ten Air Force Space Command units, including the newest addition, Space and Missiles Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, and the British Royal Air Force Flyingdales participated in Guardian Challenge activities hosted at Vandenberg AFB.