Update: Jan. 6, 1:25 p.m. EST (1825 UTC): Corrected some of the launch complex status information for accuracy.
A new orbital launch site is up for grabs at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California.
On Monday, the Department of the Air Force published a new request for information from launch providers to determine the level of interest in what would become the southern most launch complex on the Western Range.
The space, which will be designated as Space Launch Complex 14 or SLC-14, is being set aside for orbital rockets in a heavy or super-heavy vertical launch class. The government defines “heavy” as having payload capacity of between 20,000-50,000 kg (44,092-110,231 lbs) and “super-heavy” anything greater than 50,000 kg.
“Due to the unique attributes of SLC-14 and the goal of maximizing assured access to space in support of national security objectives, the Department of the Air Force (DAF), United States Space Force (USSF), and Space Launch Delta 30 (SLD 30) are committed to ensuring the best use of this property,” the RFI stated.
Vandenberg currently plays host to a variety of launch providers, which are spread across multiple pads:
- SLC-2 – Firefly Aerospace, Alpha rocket
- SLC-3 – United Launch Alliance, Vulcan rocket (under development)
- SLC-4E – SpaceX, Falcon 9 rocket
- SLC-5 – Phantom Space, Daytona rocket (undeveloped; environmental assessment completed)
- SLC-6 – SpaceX, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets (under development)
- SLC-8 – Government-owned, multi-use pad (most recently used by Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur 4 rocket on April 16, 2025)
- SLC-9 – Undeveloped (a draft environmental assessment document dated Feb. 2025 references Blue Origin in a “Reasonably Foreseeable Projects” table, but a spokesperson for SLD 30 said on Jan. 6 that Blue Origin currently doesn’t hold any out grant or lease for property at VSFB)
- SLC-576E Licensed to Long Wall (formerly ABL Space Systems)
One of the requirements listed in the RFI include what the government calls the “highest technical maturity.” It states that for the bid from a launch provider to be taken seriously, it needs to prove that it can “begin operations within approximately five years of a real property out grant (lease) being issued.”
“A provider with a more technically mature vehicle is demonstrably better positioned to initiate operations quickly at SLC-14,” according to the RFI. “To demonstrate ability to meet this criterion, respondents should submit a schedule of projected milestones proposing how the intended vehicle could be operational on SLC-14 within five years of a real property outgrant (lease) being issued.”
SLD 30 said in this RFI that not only does it want to bring new launch capability to the California coast line, but also ensure that it can mix well with the current missions at Vandenberg.
“To demonstrate ability to meet this criterion, respondents should provide projected launch rate, mass to orbit per launch, quantities of fuels needed, explosive arcs and hazard areas (including explosive siting maps in work or approved), mitigation alternatives for anticipated impacts for neighboring operations, and transportation routes as well as any modifications required to existing VSFB infrastructure to support operations (e.g., harbor, roads, utilities, processing),” the RFI states.
Interested parties will also need to be able to abide by regulations set forth by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The government noted that because the land for SLC-14 is currently undeveloped, an Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision would also need to be created before construction could begin.
Responses are due to the government by Feb. 12.
Who’s in contention?
Multiple U.S. launch providers have rockets that qualify in the heavy to super-heavy classification either currently launching or in development. But in order to increase the diversity of rockets flying from Vandenberg, SLD 30 is looking primarily for options that don’t currently exist at VSFB.
Given all the requirements and the state of play on the orbital launch front, one of the contenders would likely be SpaceX with their Starship-Super Heavy rocket. The company is slated to launch the latest iteration of the rocket, dubbed Version 3, sometime in early 2026.
In 2025, SpaceX also received approval from the Department of the Air Force to move forward with overhauling SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida, which will feature two Starhip launch towers. It’s unclear if SpaceX were to make a play for SLC-14 if it would also feature two towers, like SLC-37 or its Starbase site in Texas.
We’ve received approval to develop Space Launch Complex-37 for Starship operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Construction has started.
With three launch pads in Florida, Starship will be ready to support America’s national security and Artemis goals as the world’s… pic.twitter.com/USgwNzwK8L— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 1, 2025
Blue Origin is another likely contender for the launch real estate. While they do have the currently undeveloped space at SLC-9 for its New Glenn rocket, in late November, the company unveiled plans for a news super-heavy lift version called New Glenn 9×4, which will feature nine BE-4 engines on the booster and is designed to carry more than 70 metric tons (154,324 lb) to low Earth orbit.
Another company who may take a shot at the space is Relativity Space. Like both Blue Origin and SpaceX, their heavy lift rocket, Terran R, is also designed to have a reusable first stage booster and is expected to deliver up to 23,500 kg (51,809 lb) to low Earth orbit in its reusable configuration.
Relativity is in the midst of converting Launch Complex 16 at CCSFS from its previous design that supported the smaller Terran 1 rocket, which flew once before it was retired. It’s aiming for an inaugural flight of Terran R from Florida no earlier than late 2026.
The November Terran R program update is out. Progress is building across design, build, test, and launch as hardware and infrastructure ramp forward.
🏭 On the floor, teams completed all circumferential welds on the first stage tank and wrapped acceptance testing on the second… pic.twitter.com/wKCCymollu
— Relativity Space (@relativityspace) December 9, 2025
Both Firefly Aerospace and Rocket Lab also have upcoming rockets, dubbed Eclipse and Neutron, that have dedicated pads up on Wallops Island, Virginia. However, because they’re classified as medium lift rockets — supporting between 2,000-20,000 kg (4,409-44,092 lb) — they’re not in contention for SLC-14.
All part of the plan
SLD 30 has been undergoing significant updates as part of an overhaul referred to as the Spaceport of the Future. It’s an infusion of taxpayer dollars combined with creative reworking of the infrastructure needed to support the anticipated launch rate for 2036.
The commander of SLD 30, Col. Jim Horne, spoke about the undertaking alongside the commander of SLD 45 in Florida, Col. Brian Chatman, and the program executive office for the U.S. Space Force’s Assured Access to Space, Col. Eric Zarybnisky. AATS, which operates under the USSF’s Space Systems Command, is responsible for the acquisition, development and management of the National Security Space Launch program along with other acquisition programs.
“Spaceport 2036 is exactly what we call it […] a hive of activity, which is what we have today, but much more seamlessly integrated, automated, getting to the requirements that we’re giving to Col. Zarybnisky is things like parallel operations and simultaneous launch and things like that,” Horne said during a reporter roundtable at the 2025 SpacePower Conference hosted by the Space Force Association in Orlando, Florida.
“So, we’re building the infrastructure to just continue to unleash that capacity and then help us accommodate some of the strain we’re seeing. We’re paying a large technical debt that we accumulated over several decades in infrastructure. We really haven’t significantly overhauled the launch infrastructure since the 60s, when we built it for the space race.”
During a panel at the conference, Horne said $861 million is currently being invested at VSFB for the Spaceport 2036 undertaking. That is going towards things like upgrading roads, harbors, the electric grid, gate capacity and more as they prepare for a launch cadence ranging between 150 and 200 flights annually.
Horne said part of modernizing for a much more commercially driven spaceport are initiatives, like collecting indirect charges from launch providers. He said SLD 30 publishes an annual report for their stakeholders to show what charges have been levied and how the funds are bing used.
Among the Space Force Guardians at VSFB, Horne said there are about 40 people who are responsible for assessing the environmental impacts of the decisions made to the site to help ensure a balance between advancement and maintaining good stewardship of the land.
“We have 16 endangered species at Vandenberg, the most of any other installation, and an extremely sensitive environment area,” Horne said. “We have strong partnerships with multiple folks, despite what you may hear to the contrary. Our environmental analysis is extensive and the protection mechanisms that we put in place are incredibly successful.
“We have a very thriving, vibrant environment and we have for decades. None of that’s changed. It’s just that as we increase our throughput, we have to be sensitive to those effects and they do an incredible job, day in and day out.”
