As demand for commercial and national security launches continues to increase, leaders at Vandenberg Space Force Base say the installation must modernize its infrastructure to keep pace with the future of space operations.
On Wednesday, Space Launch Delta 30 hosted its inaugural “Spaceport of the Future” Industry Day, bringing together government officials, contractors and private industry representatives to discuss a large-scale effort to transform Vandenberg into a higher-capacity spaceport.
The event focused on strengthening partnerships with industry while identifying new ways to accelerate infrastructure projects needed to support future launch operations.
“We’re looking to change how we’ve been doing the processes of the past,” said Ainsley Allen, Deputy Chief for the Spaceport of the Future program. “Those processes have been determined to be too slow for where the pace is going and the mission growth that we’re seeing out here.”
Allen said collaboration with private industry is key to delivering projects more efficiently and preparing the base for future growth.
“We need to partner with our industry partners, and we’re working to bring everyone in early,” Allen said. “A big part of having everyone here today was to have them talk to each other and get those lines of communication open.”
Officials say the modernization effort includes improvements to roads, utilities, communications systems and other critical infrastructure needed to support an increasing number of missions.
“We have a lot of new national security missions coming to the base,” Allen said. “The infrastructure that we’re going to need to build to support those is big. The base is going to expand, we’re going to have more people on base, and we really need to build the supporting infrastructure to support it.”
Col. James Horne, Commander of Vandenberg Space Force Base, said the installation is uniquely positioned to support the nation’s growing space enterprise.
“We have the land. We have the mission. We have the momentum and we have the initial financing to overhaul our infrastructure,” Horne said.
He added that investing in infrastructure is essential to maintaining the nation’s space capabilities and supporting future missions.
Lt. Col. Kyle Rowland, Director of the Spaceport of the Future initiative, said base leaders also want the Central Coast to be part of that future.
“We want to be as transparent, open and honest as we can be with the Central Coast,” Rowland said. “We want to be partners in this endeavor. We don’t want to be Vandenberg on an island. We want to be Vandenberg, a part of the Central Coast.”
Rowland said the investments are expected to benefit both the base and surrounding communities.
"As these infrastructure projects are coming in, you’ll see an increase in the launch activity,” he said. “These infrastructure projects are going to benefit all our local community and local businesses.”
Base leaders say Wednesday’s event marked the beginning of what they expect will be years of collaboration with private industry to modernize Vandenberg and support a growing number of commercial and national security launches.
The long-term vision, known as Spaceport 2036, aims to create a modern, high-capacity launch complex capable of meeting the nation’s expanding space needs while strengthening Vandenberg’s partnership with the Central Coast.
