San Clemente
Type: Suborbital Launch Site. Operator: USA. Country: USA. Latitude: 32°55' N. Longitude: 118°30' W.

Military facility on the California Channel Islands, used for rocket launches in support of other missile tests from Vandenberg or Point Mugu. In use from 1957 to 1960. Later plans were made for an off-shore launch platform for the Starstruck vehicle.


San Clemente Chronology and Launch Log
  • 1958 March 23 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Polaris A1. Polaris TV Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

  • 1958 April 11 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Polaris A1. Polaris TV Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

  • 1958 Jul? - Argus test mission Launch Vehicle: X-17. Apogee: 450 km (270 mi).

  • 1958 Aug 1? - Argus test mission Launch Vehicle: X-17. Apogee: 450 km (270 mi).

  • 1958 Aug? - Argus test mission Launch Vehicle: X-17. Apogee: 450 km (270 mi).

  • 1960 April 14 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Polaris A1. Polaris A1 A1X Apogee: 2.00 km (1.20 mi).

  • 1960 June 30 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Polaris A1. Polaris A1 A1X Apogee: 2.00 km (1.20 mi).

  • 1960 August 24 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Polaris A1. Polaris A1 A1 Apogee: 2.00 km (1.20 mi).

  • 1984 February 6 - Dolphin hybrid rocket sea-launch abort. Launch Vehicle: Dolphin. Nitrogen gas fittings had been loosened during transport. Attempts to grind an access hole to an internal bay of the rocket to tighten the fittings resulted in a fire in the electronics.. LC: E. The Dolphin included not only innovative hybrid propulsion technology but was also launched from a floating launch cannister at sea. This was the first attempted test of the sea-launch system, although the launch itself was aborted.

  • 1984 March 30 - Dolphin hybrid rocket sea-launch abort. Launch Vehicle: Dolphin. Seawater seeped into the electronics bay, creating a short.. LC: E. This was the second attempted use of the sea-launch system - the launch itself was aborted.

  • 1984 August 3 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Dolphin. Thrust vector control failure led to vehicle swerving off course at T+14 seconds.. LC: E. Apogee: 0.70 km (0.43 mi). The vehicle was supposed to reach an altitude of 2400 m but only made it to 700 m due to a stuck thrust vector control valve that resulted in a 45 degree deviation from vertical fligh. The errant vehicle was shut down by command from the support ship at T+14 sec. After this attempt, the project, backed entirely with private funds, folded.


Bibliography and Further Reading
  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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