Fire plumes in California, deforestation in the Congo, drying reservoirs in Utah — images of these events when seen from above are indelible to the mind's eye, and the photographer capturing these potent images since 1972 has been a Landsat observing satellite . The newest version — the Landsat 9 — heads into orbit this coming Monday from Vandenberg missile base in Lompoc, which will be the base's 2,000th launch since a Thor Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile took off on December 16, 1958.
Vandenberg officially became a base for the U.S. Space Force this past May, and had been an Air Force Base since 1958 and Camp Cooke Army Base before that since 1941. It has gradually increased the number of liftoffs since 2018, when its nine launches included one that took the InSight Lander to Mars to explore the deep interior; six lifted off in the first 10 months of this year, including one by SpaceX; four launches occurred in 2020; and three in 2019.
Leading up to Monday's ascent, two previous launch dates were delayed, one due to high winds and another because the trucks that would carry liquid nitrogen — needed for the launch — had been repurposed to carry liquid oxygen for COVID patients. The surrounding community of Lompoc moved its Landsat 9 Launch Week accordingly, starting with a geocaching event and several others on Sunday, September 19, all leading up to a viewing party at Lompoc Airport for the launch, currently set for Monday, September 27, at 11:11 a.m.
