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Point Arguello

Coordinates: 34°37′N 120°36′W / 34.617°N 120.600°W / 34.617; -120.600
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Point Arguello

Point Arguello (Spanish: Punta Argüello)[1][2] is a headland on the Gaviota Coast, in Santa Barbara County, California, near the city of Lompoc.[3] The area was first used by the United States Navy in 1959 for the launch of military and sounding rockets. It was transferred to the United States Air Force in 1964,[4] at which time it became part of Vandenberg Air Force Base.[5]

History

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In 1769, the Spanish Portola expedition became the first Europeans to explore this area by land. Soldiers of the expedition named a nearby point Los Pedernales or Punta Pedernales, because they found flints there.[6] The point was given that name on some early maps, but in 1792 British naval explorer George Vancouver dubbed it Point Arguello for José Darío Argüello, a Spanish frontier soldier who was Commandant of the Presidio of Santa Barbara and acting governor of Alta California.[7]

USS Edith wrecked off Point Argüello in 1849.[8]

A High-frequency direction finding (HFDF) was established here by the Navy during World War II. These radio intercept sites along the coast could track Japanese warships and merchant marine vessels as far away as the Western Pacific. The other stations in California were at Farallon Islands, Point Saint George, and San Diego. Bainbridge Island, Washington also hosted a station.[9]

Launch pads

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Rockets listed in italics were launched from the complex after its transfer to Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1964.

Original Designation Later Designation
(Vandenberg Air Force Base, from 1966)
Rockets
LC-1-1 SLC-3W Atlas-Agena
Thor-Agena
Thorad-Agena
Atlas E/F
LC-1-2 SLC-3E Atlas-Agena
Atlas E/F
Atlas H
Atlas IIAS
Atlas V
LC-2-3 SLC-4W Atlas-Agena
Titan IIIB
Titan 23G
LC-2-4 SLC-4E Atlas-Agena
Titan IIID
Titan 34D
Titan IV
Falcon 9
PALC-A N/A Sounding rockets
PALC-B N/A Sounding rockets
LC-C PLC-C Sounding rockets
PALC-D SLC-5 Scout

PALC-A

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Launch Complex A or LC-A at the Point Arguello Naval Air Station in California, United States, subsequently Point Arguello Launch Complex A or PALC-A at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a launch complex that was used for a number of sounding rocket launches between 1959 and 1966. It was originally built as Launch Complex A or LC-A at the Point Arguello Naval Air Station, and was subsequently transferred to Vandenberg Air Force Base as PALC-A following the merger of Point Arguello into Vandenberg AFB in 1964.

Point Arguello Launch Complex A
Map
Launch sitePoint Arguello
Vandenberg
Location34°40′45″N 120°35′32″W / 34.6791°N 120.5922°W / 34.6791; -120.5922
Short nameLC-A, PALC-A
OperatorUS Air Force
Total launches39
Launch pad(s)One
Launch history
StatusInactive
First launch14 July 1959
Last launch25 March 1966
Associated
rockets
Blue Scout Junior
Astrobee-1500
Black Brant III
DAC Roc
Honest John-Nike-Nike
Javelin
Journeyman
Nike-Asp
Seagull

Blue Scout Junior, Astrobee, Black Brant, DAC Roc, Honest John-Nike-Nike, Javelin, Journeyman, Nike-Asp and Seagull rockets were launched from the complex whilst it was active.

Launch History

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Date/Time (GMT) Rocket Mission Remarks
14 July 1959, 17:45 Nike-Asp
17 July 1959, 17:40 Nike-Asp Failed
24 July 1959, 16:34 Nike-Asp
7 August 1959, 17:05 Nike-Asp
14 August 1959, 16:00 Nike-Asp
22 August 1959, 02:30 Nike-Asp
24 August 1959, 22:47 Nike-Asp
28 August 1959, 16:10 Nike-Asp
31 August 1959, 22:53 Nike-Asp
1 September 1959, 01:01 Nike-Asp
1 September 1959, 19:00 Nike-Asp
2 September 1959, 00:03 Nike-Asp
19 September 1960, 16:35 Journeyman
1 August 1961, 20:18 Astrobee-1500
15 November 1961, 13:42 Journeyman
18 November 1961, 13:42 Journeyman
4 December 1961, 04:00 Blue Scout Junior O-2
8 December 1961 Astrobee-1500
31 May 1962, 17:08 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1C ERCS 279L-1
9 July 1962 Journeyman
24 July 1962, 17:29 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1C ERCS 279L-2
21 November 1962, 18:20 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1C ERCS 279L-3
19 December 1962 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1B
2 February 1963, 06:56 Blue Scout Jr SLV-1C ERCS 279L-4
12 February 1963, 01:47 Journeyman
14 March 1963, 01:01 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1C ERCS 279L-5
17 May 1963, 23:00 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1C ERCS 279L-6
1 July 1963 Black Brant III
24 October 1963 DAC Roc
7 November 1963 Black Brant III
18 November 1963 Honest John-Nike-Nike HAD-1
10 December 1963 DAC Roc
20 December 1963 Seagull
6 February 1964 Honest John-Nike-Nike HAD-2 Failed
14 March 1964 Honest John-Nike-Nike HAD-3
29 August 1964, 09:36 Blue Scout Junior SLV-1B
22 December 1964, 04:00 Blue Scout Junior Failed - premature third stage cutoff
19 March 1966, 12:31 Javelin HITAB-1
25 March 1966, 09:42 Javelin HITAB-2

PALC-B

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Launch Complex B or LC-B at the Point Arguello Naval Air Station in California, United States was a launch complex which was used for twenty three sounding rocket launches between 1960 and 1963. Astrobee-1500, Deacon-Arrow, Kiva-Hopi, Nike-Cajun, Nike-Viper, Terrier-Asp rockets were launched from the complex whilst it was active.

Launch Complex B
Map
Launch sitePoint Arguello
Location34°40′11″N 120°35′57″W / 34.6697°N 120.5993°W / 34.6697; -120.5993
Short nameLC-B
OperatorUS Air Force
Total launches23
Launch pad(s)One
Launch history
StatusInactive
First launch4 February 1960
Last launch11 May 1963
Associated
rockets
Astrobee-1500
Deacon-Arrow
Kiva-Hopi
Nike-Cajun
Nike-Viper
Terrier-Asp

The complex was transferred to the Vandenberg Air Force Base as a result of a merger between it and Point Arguello in 1964, however by that time it was already inactive.

Launch History

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Date/Time (GMT) Rocket Mission Remarks
4 February 1960 Nike-Viper
29 April 1960 Nike-Viper
27 June 1960 Nike-Viper
1 July 1960 Deacon-Arrow
8 July 1960 Deacon-Arrow
14 July 1960 Deacon-Arrow
20 July 1960 Nike-Cajun
12 August 1960 Kiva-Hopi
30 September 1960 Nike-Viper
12 October 1960 Kiva-Hopi
27 October 1960 Kiva-Hopi
21 November 1960 Nike-Cajun
22 November 1960 Nike-Cajun
6 December 1960, 18:44 Kiva-Hopi
14 December 1960 Kiva-Hopi
14 December 1960 Kiva-Hopi
16 December 1960 Kiva-Hopi
27 March 1961 Deacon-Arrow
14 March 1962 Terrier-Asp
9 July 1962 Astrobee-1500 Failed
5 August 1962 Kiva-Hopi
13 December 1962 Terrier-Asp
11 May 1963 Kiva-Hopi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Descripción de las Costas de California
  2. ^ Journal of the American Institute of Architects, Volume 2
  3. ^ "Point Arguello". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ^ Wade, Mark. "Point Arguello". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  5. ^ Day, Dwayne. "Vandenberg Air Force Base". Spaceflight. US Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 176–177. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  7. ^ Gudde, Erwin; William Bright (2004). California Place Names (Fourth ed.). University of California Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
  8. ^ Hoover, Mildred Brooke; Rensch, Hero Eugene; Rensch, Ethel Grace; Abeloe, William N. (1966). Historic Spots in California (3rd ed.). Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. p. 415.
  9. ^ Menzel, Sewall (2020). The Pearl Harbor Secret: Why Roosevelt Undermined the U.S. Navy. ABC-CLIO. p. 41. ISBN 9781440875861.
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34°37′N 120°36′W / 34.617°N 120.600°W / 34.617; -120.600