VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Vandenberg Air Force Base this year will have one of the busiest launch schedules they've had in years. And it's happening in the midst of some decreasing budgets for the base.
Colonel Brent McArthur of the 30th Space Wing, says that there are about 8-10 more launches scheduled for this year. The next one is this coming Monday with an Atlas V rocket. The base had a successful missile-defense launch last month. When asked if the nation's Missile Defense Agency would be using Vandenberg more often in the future, McArthur said it's out of his hands.
"That's really up to the Missile Defense Agency," says McArthur. "Obviously they had a great launch and we were glad to be a part of that so it would really be up to them to really determine the pace of the test launches that they do."
McArthur says that the high number of launches this year was a case of good timing and good timing for the local economy. Earlier this week Central Coast News spoke with several businesses who said because of an increase launch schedule they're seeing more revenue coming into the local economy.
