Launch Summary, Vandenberg AFB, 2000

This is a reference book rather than a sighting report: the 30th Space Wing history office’s official registry of every major launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from the first on 16 December 1958 through early 2000. The version released here is dated 3 February 2000 and was compiled by the wing historian, Jeffrey Geiger.

What is in it

The core is a chronological list of launches, with dates in Vandenberg local time and running counts by rocket type and by the command that flew it. Two summary tables break the launches down by booster and by command, followed by a guide to the base’s launch facilities and a long glossary of program names — reentry vehicle tests, weather satellites, missile test flights and more. Its distribution list runs from Air Force Space Command and NASA to contractors such as the Aerospace Corporation and TRW. The foreword notes that the counts cover only Vandenberg, not, for example, Titan IV launches from Cape Canaveral.

Why a launch log belongs here

The release gives no reason for including it, but launch records are a standard tool for checking reports of strange lights in the sky. A rocket climbing through sunlit upper air after dusk can produce a glowing, spreading plume that looks nothing like an aircraft, and launches from Vandenberg have been seen across much of the western United States. A dated list lets investigators test whether a sighting lines up with a launch.