Point Arguello (Spanish: Punta Argüello)[1] [2] is a headland on the Gaviota Coast, in Santa Barbara County, California, near the city of Lompoc. 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,[3] at which time it became part of Vandenberg Air Force Base.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
wrecked off Point Argüello in 1849.[7]
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.[8]
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 |
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 | |||||||
| Site: | Point Arguello Vandenberg | ||||||
| Location: | 34.6791°N -120.5922°W | ||||||
| Short: | LC-A, PALC-A | ||||||
| Operator: | US Air Force | ||||||
| Tlaunches: | 39 | ||||||
| Pads: | One | ||||||
| Paddetails: |
| ||||||
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.
| 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 |
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 | |||||||
| Site: | Point Arguello | ||||||
| Short: | LC-B | ||||||
| Operator: | US Air Force | ||||||
| Tlaunches: | 23 | ||||||
| Pads: | One | ||||||
| Paddetails: |
| ||||||
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.
| 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 |