21st Century USAF Bases: Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) and the 30th Space Wing, Rocket and Missile Launches, Images and Videos, Space Technology, Western Range (DVD-ROM)

This electronic book on DVD-ROM provides an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to the Vandenberg AFB in California and the 30th Space Wing. There are over 1100 image files in JPG format, 65 movies - including rocket and silo missile launches - in WMV format, and nearly 9,000 pages reproduced in Adobe Acrobat PDF. Coverage includes rocket launches, launch pads and facilities, missile test launches, missile programs, Minuteman III launches (with video), reproductions of the Missile and Space Times, and much more about the vital work of the 30th Space Wing. The 30th is the Air Force Space Command organization responsible for all Department of Defense (DoD) space and missile launch activities on the West Coast. The vast majority of all US satellites destined for near-polar orbit are launched from Vandenberg. The wing supports West Coast launch activities for the Air Force, DoD, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), foreign nations, and various commercial entities. The WR consists of instrumentation sites along the California coast providing a vast array of space and missile tracking equipment. We support the processing and launch of a variety of expendable vehicles including Atlas V, Delta IV, Delta II, Pegasus, Minotaur, and Taurus. The wing also supports Force Development Evaluation (FDE) of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as Missile Defense Agency (MDA) interceptor tests and operations. The wing's first goal: Guarantee a safe, credible, ready nuclear deterrent force with perfection as the standard. The 30th Space Wing is composed of four groups that report to the wing commander. Those groups include the 30th Operations Group, 30th Launch Group, 30th Mission Support Group, and 30th Medical Group. Vandenberg s major tenant units include the Joint Functional Component Command for Space (USSTRATCOM), 14th Air Force, 576th Flight Test Squadron, MDA, 381st Training Group, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), 50th Space Wing, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The 30th Operations Group operates and maintains the WR and supports space and missile launch operations. The Operations Group also manages Vandenberg s communications and instrumentation infrastructure, operates the airfield, and provides weather operations. The 30th Operations Group consists of the 2nd Range Operations, 30th Range Management, 30th Space Communications, 30th Operations Support, and 30th Weather Squadrons. The 30th Launch Group provides launch vehicle support through generation and execution of operational and developmental space launch systems, factory-to-flight payload processing, and launch infrastructure management. In addition, the Launch Group provides mission assurance, protects critical launch resources, performs mission integration, and prepares future launch leaders. The 30th Launch Group consists of the 1st Air and Space Test, 4th Space Launch, and 30th Launch.