Final Scout rocket fired from Vandenberg Published May 19, 2009 By Jeffrey Geiger 30th Space Wing historian VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Fifteen years ago this month, Scout vehicle 218C lifted off from Space Launch Complex-5, carrying into a sun-synchronous orbit the second Miniature Sensor Technology Integration spacecraft. Launched May 8, 1994, it was the 118th and last Scout rocket since the program began at NASA's launch facility in July 1960 at Wallops Island, Va. At Vandenberg, it was the 69th Scout and 1,700th launch. The standard Scout vehicle was a solid-propellant, four-stage booster system, approximately 75 feet in length, and at liftoff it weighed approximately 47,400 pounds. The MSTI program was established by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, but later transitioned to the Air Force. The MSTI-2 spacecraft was designed to demonstrate space-based tracking of ballistic missile systems in multiple wavelength bands against target vehicles, including the launch of a Minuteman III from Vandenberg and other targets of opportunity. Its primary instruments consisted of shortwave and medium-wave infrared cameras. The collection and analysis of vehicle plume, background phenomenology and other energy sources by MSTI-2 helped further the development of interceptor technology. The spacecraft successfully completed its mission and reentered the atmosphere in March 1995. The MSTI-2 spacecraft was approximately 36 inches in diameter, 50 inches tall and weighed 360 pounds. It was developed by engineers from the Air Force's Phillips Laboratory, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a contractor team that included Spectrum Astro, Anser, Sparta, Wyle Laboratories and Rockwell International. Launch processing for the MSTI-2 mission at Vandenberg began with the arrival of the main sections of the Scout booster between July and September 1993. The flight components were taken to the Ordnance Assembly Building where they were processed and assembled in November. The first three rocket stage motors were then moved to SLC-5 for electronic functional testing. Meanwhile, the MSTI-2 spacecraft arrived at the Dynamic Balance Facility at Vandenberg and underwent electrical subsystem testing involving its C-band transponders, Doppler beacon and Global Positioning System components. The satellite was then attached to the Scout's fourth-stage rocket motor and underwent static and dynamic balancing testing. The upper stage/satellite combination was transported to SLC-5 and mated to the Scout vehicle in a horizontal configuration in May 1994. Final checkout and component installations of the fully integrated vehicle followed during the first few days of May. The first launch attempt May 6, 1994, was scrubbed five minutes into the first countdown attempt. A 60 percent probability of rain and lightning had forced a 48-hour delay. Finally, Scout 218C lifted off from SLC-5 on May 8, 1994 and entered the history books. Following the launch, SLC-5 was shutdown and continues to await its final disposition.