SpaceX gets approval to lease a second rocket launch complex in California

SpaceX has obtained approval from the US Space Force to lease a second rocket launch complex at a military base located in California. With this approval, the space company has secured its fifth launch site in the US.

SpaceX gets approval for fifth US launch site

Under this newly-obtained lease, the Elon Musk company will launch the workhorse Falcon rockets from Space Launch Complex-6 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The new launch site is a military location north of Los Angeles, where SpaceX also harbors another Launchpad.

SpaceX also has two other launchpads in Florida and another in its private Starbase in South Texas. A statement from US Space Force said that the commander of Space Launch Delta 30, Col. Rob Long, signed a letter of support for this new launch site on Friday. However, Space Force did not mention the duration of this lease.

The new launch site secured by SpaceX was previously owned by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture known as United Launch Alliance. The site has enabled SpaceX to have more room to meet its busy launch schedule for launches. The company handles commercial, government, and internal satellite launches.

The Vandenberg Space Force Base is used for launches in a southern trajectory over the Pacific Ocean. The base is usually used to monitor the weather, launching military and spy satellites that rely on the polar Earth orbits.

Developments happening with SpaceX

SpaceX obtained this new approval when rocket companies prepared to compete for the Pentagon Phase 3 National Security Space Launch program. The program is part of a military launch procurement effort that will commence next year.

SpaceX also recently gained approval from the FAA for Starship, with the first test flight happening last week. The next-generation spacecraft exploded a few minutes after launch. The uncrewed test flight happened in South Texas.

The test flight marked a key milestone in Musk’s effort to create a rocket vessel to take humans to the moon and Mars. The flight test was the first for Starship and was mounted atop the new Super Heavy rocket. The launch was the first for the lower-stage booster, which SpaceX has promoted as Earth’s most powerful launch vehicle.

The two-stage rocket ship reached less than the halfway distance to the edge of space. It managed to climb to around 25 miles. Despite the flight lasting a few minutes, it met the goal of getting the powerful rocket off the ground at liftoff despite some engines failing.

Officials from SpaceX have been thrilled by the outcome of this launch, but the mission failed to meet several objectives. The plan for the test flight was for Starship to go at least 90 miles above Earth before re-entering the atmosphere and dropping into the Pacific near Hawaii. The test flight brings SpaceX closer to sending astronauts back to the moon.