30th SW Public Affairs, (805) 606-3595, DSN 276-3595

The Space and Missile Heritage Center preserves and displays artifacts and memorabilia to interpret the evolution of missile and spacelift activity at Vandenberg from the beginning of the Cold War through current non-classified developments in military, commercial, and scientific space endeavors.

Initially designated complex 75-2, construction lasted from January 1958 until October 1958, with Air Force acceptance soon thereafter. As originally designed, the SLC-10 complex consisted of three launch pads; all three were decommissioned and stripped after the Thor IRBM program launches were discontinued in June 1962. In 1964, two launch pads (designated SLC-10E and SLC-10W) were reactivated, but launches were restricted to the western pad, closest to the ocean, while the eastern pad was used strictly for training. The last launch from SLC-10E was 19 March 1962, and it was decommissioned and stripped shortly thereafter. The last launch from SLC-10W was 14 July 1980, and it was then decommissioned and kept in a caretaker status.

Both pads at SLC-10 remained untouched from 1980 through 1985. The next year, SLC-10 became a National Historic Landmark (NHL) under the National Park Service's ?"an in Space" program. The site was restored, and converted into the Space and Missile Heritage Center.