Preparations for Boeing's first Delta IV launch from Vandenberg AFB, California, in January next year have begun with the erection of the first stage of the booster at Pad SLC-6 (Slick 6) in the first of a series of verification tests.
The rocket, equipped with two solid rocket boosters, will carry a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Slick 6 has a long history but few launches. It was developed for Titan III launches of the Gemini-based military Manned Orbital Laboratory in the 1960s but the project was cancelled. The pad was later modified to launch military Space Shuttle missions, with the first flight poised for lift-off in March 1986.
Flights from Slick 6 were cancelled after the Challenger accident.
Source: Flight International
