WASHINGTON - The U.S. Space Force is officially looking for a tenant for its latest piece of prime California real estate: a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base that's been reserved for the little guys of the rocket world.
On June 8, the Space Force dropped a request for information (RFI) inviting launch vehicle operators to express interest in Space Launch Complex (SLC) 9, a proposed site at Vandenberg designed specifically for small- and medium-class launch vehicles. Responses are due by July 8, so if you've got a rocket that's not too big and not too small, now's your chance.
The Space Force, in a statement, framed the offer as a way to both nurture the growing launch industry and serve what it calls “critical national security objectives.” Col. James Horne III, commander of Space Launch Delta 30 (the folks in charge of launch ops at Vandenberg), said: “The further development of small and medium launch capabilities at VSFB is a strategic priority, enhancing our resilience and agility in space operations.” In other words, they want more rockets blasting off, just not the really huge ones.
SLC-9 sits in the northern part of Vandenberg's “South Base” area, where most of the base's current launch pads are clustered. It's a stone's throw north of SLC-3, a site United Launch Alliance used for the Atlas 5 and is currently sprucing up to support its Vulcan Centaur. The location was once linked to Blue Origin, which considered building a New Glenn launch pad there - until it didn't. In April, the Space Force announced it had entered negotiations with Blue Origin for a different site, SLC-14, on the southern coast of the base.
According to the RFI, the Space Force defines a “small launch vehicle” as one that can haul less than 2,000 kilograms to orbit, while a “medium launch vehicle” can carry between 2,000 and 20,000 kilograms. The RFI asks companies to prove both “sufficient financial maturity” to fund their own pad development and the “highest technical maturity” of their rocket - meaning they must be able to start launching within three years of signing a deal.
Beyond just launching stuff, the Space Force wants to know what other tricks applicants can pull off from SLC-9, including point-to-point cargo delivery, payload return, vehicle reuse, and something called “survivability.” So if your rocket can also deliver pizzas or survive a zombie apocalypse, definitely mention that.
The focus on small and medium vehicles naturally limits the pool of potential suitors. Firefly Aerospace, which already uses another Vandenberg pad for its Alpha small rocket, is developing the medium-class Eclipse with Northrop Grumman. Relativity Space and Stoke Space are building medium-class rockets too, but they're initially launching from Cape Canaveral - though a Vandenberg pad could be tempting for high-inclination orbits. Rocket Lab operates the small Electron and is developing the medium Neutron but hasn't mentioned launching from anywhere beyond New Zealand and Virginia. Whether any other developers can meet the financial and technical requirements remains to be seen.
This announcement comes amid growing concerns that launch demand is straining capacity at both Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral, sparking interest in alternative spaceports and even sea-based launch platforms. The Space Force noted in the RFI that one evaluation criterion will be how applicants plan to minimize their impact on other launch facilities at the base, plus any new infrastructure - like roads and utilities - they'll need. Because nothing says “space age” like worrying about traffic jams on the way to the launch pad.