{"nrhp_refnum":"86003511","name":"Space Launch Complex 10","other_names":["Missile Launch Complex 10"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Vandenberg Air Force Base","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lompoc","county":"Santa Barbara County","state":"CA","lat":34.76534515900005,"lon":-120.62374283588353,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-06-23","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1986-06-23","areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Space Launch Complex 10 (SLC-10) is a missile and space launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California, built in 1958 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the Air Force. It has a blockhouse and two launch pads, East and West.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that SLC-10W with its blockhouse is the best surviving example of a working 1950s launch complex from the start of the American effort to explore space. It supported THOR IRBM launches and later THOR-based Burner/Altair satellite launches through 1980. Its blockhouse electronics are among the best surviving examples of working space launch equipment of that era.","narrative":"Space Launch Complex 10 is a rocket launch site on Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. Douglas Aircraft built it in 1958 to support training launches of the THOR intermediate-range ballistic missile, and the Air Force accepted it that October. Royal Air Force crews made the first launches from the east and west pads in 1959. In 1962 the complex was dismantled and shipped to Johnston Island for nuclear testing, then rebuilt at the west pad in 1963-64 using equipment from dismantled THOR sites in England. From 1965 to 1980 the west pad launched THOR-boosted Burner satellites, ending with the 32nd THOR lift-off on 14 July 1980. The nomination holds that the west pad and its reinforced concrete blockhouse, with original electronics, are the best surviving example of a working 1950s launch complex from the early years of the American space effort. The pad has been decommissioned since 1980 but remains well preserved.","period_of_significance":"1958-1980","architect_builder":"US Air Force","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"SLC-10W was decommissioned after its last launch on 14 July 1980 and kept in caretaker status; the blockhouse and pad are described as intact and in good condition. SLC-10E is stripped, with only the pad, launch shed and some equipment left.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.450947-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86003511_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003511/52173b4a7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003511/52173b4a7b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"U.S. Air Force","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thor_DSV-2U_launch_with_DMSP-5D-F5_satellite.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Air Force</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thor_DSV-2U_launch_with_DMSP-5D-F5_satellite.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858095","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Launch_Complex_10","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2510096"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-barbara-county/space-launch-complex-10-86003511/"}