Space Launch Complex 3 Groundbreaking Ceremony for VADER Project

U.S. Space Force Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, middle, alongside Vandenberg SFB leadership and project managers, symbolically begin construction during a groundbreaking ceremony at Space Launch Complex 3 to mark the beginning of the Vandenberg Atmospheric Detection of an Electrified Range project at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., March 4, 2025. The project will undergo the release of 14 electric field mills across base to enhance lightning detection for safer, more efficient launch operations by improving Lightning Launch Commit Criteria assessments. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Kadielle Shaw)

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Space Launch Complex 3 Groundbreaking Ceremony for VADER Project

U.S. Space Force Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, middle, alongside Vandenberg SFB leadership and project managers, dig up soil during a groundbreaking ceremony at Space Launch Complex 3 to mark the beginning of the Vandenberg Atmospheric Detection of an Electrified Range project at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., March 4, 2025. The project will undergo the release of 14 electric field mills across base to enhance lightning detection for safer, more efficient launch operations by improving Lightning Launch Commit Criteria assessments. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Kadielle Shaw)

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Space Launch Complex 3 Groundbreaking Ceremony for VADER Project

Published March 4, 2025
By Senior Airman Kadielle Shaw
Space Launch Delta 30 Public Affairs

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. -- U.S. Space Force Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, middle, alongside Vandenberg SFB leadership and project managers, symbolically begin construction during a groundbreaking ceremony at Space Launch Complex 3 to mark the beginning of the Vandenberg Atmospheric Detection of an Electrified Range project at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., March 4, 2025. The project will undergo the release of 14 electric field mills across base to enhance lightning detection for safer, more efficient launch operations by improving Lightning Launch Commit Criteria assessments. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Kadielle Shaw)