On Monday, the U.S. Space Force approved SpaceX’s second rocket launch complex lease at a California military installation for its fifth U.S. launch site.
SpaceX will launch its Falcon rockets from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a military launch facility north of Los Angeles. It includes two Florida locations and a private Starbase in south Texas.
A Monday night Space Force statement claimed Space Launch Delta 30 commander Col. Rob Long signed a letter of support for the decision on Friday. SpaceX’s lease was not specified.
SpaceX can manage a growing commercial, government, and internal satellite launch schedule at the new launch pad, left last year by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance.
Vandenberg Space Force Base sends weather-monitoring, military, and intelligence satellites into southern Pacific Ocean orbits.
SpaceX’s allocation of Space Launch Complex-6 comes as rocket firms prepare to bid for the Pentagon’s Phase 3 National Security Space Launch program, a major military launch procurement endeavor set to begin next year.