Jerry Ross – Spaceflight Now

May 23, 2025

Breaking News

[ May 23, 2025 ] FAA clears SpaceX to launch its 9th Starship super heavy rocket, while Flight 8 mishap investigation continues Mission Reports
[ May 23, 2025 ] Live coverage: SpaceX to launch West Coast Falcon 9 with Starlink satellites Falcon 9
[ May 20, 2025 ] New Falcon 9 booster makes its debut on Starlink delivery mission Falcon 9
[ May 19, 2025 ] SpaceX scrubs Monday night Falcon 9 launch minutes before liftoff Falcon 9
[ May 19, 2025 ] Department of the Air Force issues draft documents for new SpaceX launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base Mission Reports

‘Slick 6:’ 30 years after the hopes of a West Coast space shuttle

February 8, 2016 Justin Ray

It was 1986 and the U.S. Air Force was on the cusp of something unprecedented in human spaceflight — launching a space shuttle crew from California and paving the way for people to fly true polar missions.