Point Arguello

34.616666666667 - 120.6Koordinaten: 34 ° 37 '0 "N, 120 ° 36 ' 0 " W

Point Arguello is a rocket launch site in the U.S. state of California, northwest of the city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County. It is operated by the U.S. Air Force and is part of the Vandenberg Air Force Base. The place is named after the former governor José Darío Argüello ( 1753-1828 ).

Start from here since 1959, military and sounding rockets, at times, led by the U.S. Navy. Point Arguello has six launch pads.

The land belonged from 1941 as Camp Cooke in the U.S. Army. The larger, northern part went to the United States Air Force in June 1957 and was first Cooke Air Force Base and from October 1958 Vandenberg Air Force Base called. The smaller, southern part was transferred from the U.S. Army in May 1958 the U.S. Navy. This part was as a Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello ( NMFPA ) a part of the Pacific Missile Range (PMR ), whose headquarters was further south at Point Mugu. A restructuring of the U.S. armed forces, the launch facilities were transferred on July 1, 1964 to the U.S. Air Force and were thus part of the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

According to Point Arguello Point Arguello and the Western Air Drop Zone ( WADZ ) is named. This is not a conventional starting point, but an area in the Pacific Ocean, about 250 km north-west of Point Arguello at 36 ° 0 ' N, 123 ° 0' W36 - 123. Here Pegasus rockets are launched from aircraft carriers. The first orbital launch from here took place on April 5, 1990, when the two satellites SECS and Pegsat were brought into orbit.