When it comes to accomplishing things in California, you need to go big or go home.  That goes double for the United States Air Force, apparently.  The USAF launched the largest rocket ever launches from the West Coast when it fired off a massive Delta-4 Heavy rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.  Of course, the massive rocket launch was actually meant to be a national secret, or as much of a secret as you can have with a rocket launch.  The Delta-4 blasting off from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 (or SLC-6) was carrying a top-secret ordinance for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

“This launch marks a significant milestone in our nation’s space capability,” said United States Air Force launch director Lieutenant Colonel Brady Hauboldt before the liftoff.  “We’ve really restored a national capability for heavy lift on the Western Range, something we have not had since the last of the Titan 4Bs flew out of Vandenberg.  This extends our ability to cost effectively deliver payloads of all sizes and compliments.”

This is the fifth launch of a Delta-4 since it debuted in 2004, and the first launch of the Delta-4 on the West Coast.  This is the largest rocket to launch from California since the Titan 4B retired in 2005.  The Delta-4 stands 235 feet tall, making it about the size of a 23-story building; it is the largest rocket in use by America’s various space services.

Tags: Vandenberg Air Force Base, NROL-49, Delta-4 Heavy rocket, U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, secret rocket launches from Vandenberg, secret rocket launch, classified rocket launch, national security, Space Launch Complex 6, SLC-6, Brady Hauboldt, United States Air Force

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