Vandenberg Space Force Base to Double SpaceX Launch Operations

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has approved SpaceX’s request to significantly expand launch operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), authorizing up to 100 Falcon rocket launches per year.

Falcon Heavy has not yet launched from VSFB. The rockets are expected to conduct up to five launches and landings per year from and at Space Launch Complex (SLC)-6, DAF said. 

This expansion will increase the total launch cadence from about 50 Falcon 9 launches annually at SLC-4 to as many as 100 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches combined from SLC-4 and SLC-6.

In addition to facility upgrades, the DAF authorized SpaceX to build a new hangar between the horizontal integration facility and SLC-6 to support rocket integration and processing. 

The DAF signed a Record of Decision (ROD) on October 10, 2025, authorizing changes to the Falcon Launch Program at VSFB, following a release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

The EIS was prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which assesses potential environmental impacts related to the redevelopment and expanded operations at VSFB. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) served as a cooperating agency and participated in the preparation of the EIS, DAF said. However, the FAA will release a separate ROD based on its own conclusions, DAF noted. 

Falcon Heavy Rockets

Manufactured by SpaceX, Falcon Heavy consists of three reusable Falcon 9-engine cores. Together, their 27 Merlin engines generate over 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, according to SpaceX. This is equivalent to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. Among the world’s most powerful rockets, Falcon Heavy can lift around 64 metric tons to orbit, SpaceX added. 

The Falcon Heavy’s first test flight was attempted on February 6, 2018, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flight placed a Tesla Roadster car, attached to its second stage, as far into the orbit of Mars as possible, according to NASA.

In the following years, NASA collaborated with SpaceX for several Falcon Heavy rockets. So far, they have launched a spacecraft to an asteroid, an Earth environmental monitoring satellite, a spacecraft to study Jupiter’s moon, a lunar lander and rover, an infrared space telescope, and the first elements of the lunar orbiting Gateway.