Vandenberg area for a SpaceX launch

[slash2]

I'd like to go down to the Vandenberg AFB area and watch one of the Falcon 9 rockets launch, next one is scheduled for March 29th, I was hoping I could get some recommendations for a good viewing/camp site.

Any suggestions?

/2

 

[Alley-Kat]

I live about 30 miles South from Vandenburg and if I'm sleeping I wake up from the roar of the engines and go outside to watch the rocket, usually after it has cleared the horizon and is heading into space. If it's daytime, I just need to know the approximate launch time and be waiting to see it clear the horizon.

The city of Lompoc is close and a good viewing point, no campgrounds that I know of, however a nice little town to visit.

Just about any campground you can find an opening in Santa Barbara County near the beach will do.

The closest and probably the best viewing location and a campground for overnight camping (if you can get a spot) is Jalama Beach County Park, accessed from HWY 1, south of Lompoc. If you have to camp somewhere else, this is still the best non-city viewing location, so, you can head there for day use.

The beach campgrounds for overnight camping closer to Santa Barbara are Refugio State Beach Campground and El Capitan State Beach Campground. About the same view as from my house.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

 

[slash2]

I live about 30 miles South from Vandenburg and if I'm sleeping I wake up from the roar of the engines and go outside to watch the rocket, usually after it has cleared the horizon and is heading into space. If it's daytime, I just need to know the approximate launch time and be waiting to see it clear the horizon.

The city of Lompoc is close and a good viewing point, no campgrounds that I know of, however a nice little town to visit.

Just about any campground you can find an opening in Santa Barbara County near the beach will do.

The closest and probably the best viewing location and a campground for overnight camping (if you can get a spot) is Jalama Beach County Park, accessed from HWY 1, south of Lompoc. If you have to camp somewhere else, this is still the best non-city viewing location, so, you can head there for day use.

The beach campgrounds for overnight camping closer to Santa Barbara are Refugio State Beach Campground and El Capitan State Beach Campground. About the same view as from my house.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

Thanks Alley-Kat. I've heard that higher elevations are better, say there may be fog near the coast. What about on the ridge above Goleta or some of the other hilly areas inland, Do you know of any options in that regard?

/2

 

[Tuff Guy 62]

I grew up in Lompoc and watching missile launches during the 1960's & 70's was just a normal part of life to us. I'll backup Alley-Kat on Jalama Beach.

If you can't get a reservation at Jalama you could over night at River Park just outside of town.

Depending on the weather, a great spot to view a launch is a wide pullout (34.728219N./-120.443432W) on Harris Grade Road north of town.

 

[Foy]

Thanks Alley-Kat. I've heard that higher elevations are better, say there may be fog near the coast. What about on the ridge above Goleta or some of the other hilly areas inland, Do you know of any options in that regard?

/2

As I read Alley-Kat's reply, the thought crossed my mind "Man, I'll bet the launch view from the Rancho de Cielo area would be awesome".

The former Ronald Reagan ranch is at around 2,300' elevation in the western end of the Santa Ynez Mountains, about due north of Capitan. I haven't been on that end of the mountains, but the eastern end, above Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, is over 3,000' in elevation with views of all of the Channel Islands over 30 miles away. But the section immediately above Santa Barbara and east from there, all the way to Ojai, is likely closed and will remain so for a long time since the fire and the following floods. I imagine the area on each side of the pass traversed by CA 154 would be accessible. Rancho de Cielo is towards the end of the road west of CA 154.

Do you know if SpaceEx plans to land the two side-boosters back at Vandenburg? That was, to me, more awesome than the recent launch from Cape Canaveral. Those boosters came back down fast enough to break the sound barrier, fired their engines, and landed simultaneously a few hundred yards apart. It was so amazing I first thought it was a hoax--no way could that be done. But it was.

Foy

 

[slash2]

As I read Alley-Kat's reply, the thought crossed my mind "Man, I'll bet the launch view from the Rancho de Cielo area would be awesome".

The former Ronald Reagan ranch is at around 2,300' elevation in the western end of the Santa Ynez Mountains, about due north of Capitan. I haven't been on that end of the mountains, but the eastern end, above Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, is over 3,000' in elevation with views of all of the Channel Islands over 30 miles away. But the section immediately above Santa Barbara and east from there, all the way to Ojai, is likely closed and will remain so for a long time since the fire and the following floods. I imagine the area on each side of the pass traversed by CA 154 would be accessible. Rancho de Cielo is towards the end of the road west of CA 154.

Do you know if SpaceEx plans to land the two side-boosters back at Vandenburg? That was, to me, more awesome than the recent launch from Cape Canaveral. Those boosters came back down fast enough to break the sound barrier, fired their engines, and landed simultaneously a few hundred yards apart. It was so amazing I first thought it was a hoax--no way could that be done. But it was.

Foy

I was wondering if there was access to W Camino Cielo west of Refugio Pass to the west of the the former Reagan Ranch, that area looks like it would have a heck of a view.

I don't think the Falcon 9 launch on the 29th uses the two side boosters, but yeah, when I watched the live broadcast of those two boosters coming and landing side by side it gave me goose bumps! I haven't been that impressed since I was a kid watching the Apollo coverage.

/2

 

[Foy]

I don't think the Falcon 9 launch on the 29th uses the two side boosters, but yeah, when I watched the live broadcast of those two boosters coming and landing side by side it gave me goose bumps! I haven't been that impressed since I was a kid watching the Apollo coverage.

/2

No kidding--I was not following the entire matter closely and had no idea of the plans to land the boosters. When I first saw a video clip, I thought it was a graphic artist's rendering of some far-off future plan to land them. I even said to myself "yeah, right, they're going to land the boosters side by side back at Canaveral one of these days. Sure they are".

Reckon some of these whiz kid millenials can run a mean slide rule after all, eh?

Foy

 

[Alley-Kat]

In my opinion, higher elevations only give you a more comprehensive view of the entire land mass. Not bad, however, there is no location where a person can see the first 700' in elevation gain of the rocket without having at least a "secret" clearance, or having gone through an FBI background check AND have an "on base" sponsor, plus a 60-90 day advance invitation to actually get on the base. I did that a couple of times a few years ago.

Rancho de Cielo, the former Western White House of Ronald Reagan is closed to the general public, however, the road named West Camino Cielo (Road in the Sky) is best approached from Hwy 101 then going up the mountain on Refugio Road all the way to the top. It's a small road, tight turns, however, a full sized truck can make it, especially with a pop-top camper, a full height camper would get some tree branch scratches in various places on the road. Accessing West Camino Cielo from Hwy 154 the time I was last up there, about a year ago, I encountered a man-made road block of small car sized boulders several miles from Ranch de Cielo. I could get to the gun club, but no farther. Maybe the Sheriff's have cleared it by now. This is the ridge road above Goleta, however, mostly farther West.

If there is fog, or too much wind, both of which happens a lot for launches at Vandenburg, then there could be a delay between a day up to a week or even longer, or a complete scrub of the flight if there is a launch complex issue with equipment on the ground or the vehicle. Space-X has had a fair amount of scrubs in the past at VAFB. No one usually launches through fog, however, if it is a thin layer with a ceiling of about 1,000 AGL (some would call those clouds, we call it The Marine Layer), they have done that in the past.

The neat thing about Jalama (pronounced Ha-La-Ma) beach, is that the reason we have a west coast orbital launch complex at Vandenburg is the launch path is due South for polar orbits, the rocket exits our land mass almost immediately and is then over the ocean. The rocket looks like it is going directly over your head at Jalama, even though it is actually about 5 miles west of Jalama Beach. Very impressive and loud. My view from Santa Barbara is a more western looking, side view where I see the arc of the rocket, the bright engine burn at the tail, the contrail, and the blast of booster separation(s) are easily seen.

Rocket launches are amazing things to see, hear & feel (experience) from anywhere.

- - - - - - - - -

Foy, The road, East Camino Cielo, East of Hwy 154 can get up to 5,000 and when it gets cold and wet there is snow, across the top, all within 2, horizontal, miles from the beach and harbor. I used to take a group of friends on small motorcycles to view all of the Channel Islands, and we're almost looking directly down into the city of Santa Barbara. It was the "Beach - Mountains - Beach" ride. And you are correct it is currently closed within a few miles of Hwy 154, just past the community of Painted Cave, due to the recent Thomas Fire.

 

[slash2]

Rocket launches are amazing things to see, hear & feel (experience) from anywhere.

Great info Alley-Kat, Thanks!
Because of the possibility of scrubs I was hoping I could "wing it" without commiting to a reservation somewhere, however I imagine there are few places where one can pull off the road, pop the top the night before and watch the launch in the morning in that area. West Camino Cielo Looked like a maybe, but I'm probably dreaming.

/2

 

[Alley-Kat]

For an accurate 10 day weather forecast, I like Weather Underground for VAFB .

- - - - - - - - - - -

I'd just say go for it and make your reservation.

Try for Jalama Beach, they do have an online reservation system

If there is no launch, there are plenty of other things to do including exploring for the kind of camping place you'd like to stay at when they do the launch. Cal it a recon trip.

 

[ntsqd]

Hike in to Point Sal State Park?

 

[Alley-Kat]

Hike in to Point Sal State Park?

Too far North, you'd only see the tail of the rocket going away from you, almost a single point of light.

Good diving for fish at Lion Rock and the more exposed Seal Rock. Ling cod and cabezon in abundance.

 

[MotoDave]

I'm another 30 miles south of Alley-Kat, in Ventura. We still get a pretty good show from the launches.

I keep thinking to try to make it up to Serra Cross park for a launch, you'd have a good view of it all the way up, but its too far away to get much of the sound. I think you could see the full landing sequence if they try to land the booster on one of their barges.

 

[slash2]

Great suggestions folks, I'll probably have plenty of fun researching it regardless if I make it to a launch or not!

/2

 

[ckent323]

I am just now seeing this thread.

I live in Solvang and was in the Space business for 40 years working for local Santa Barbara Research Center and later as a contractor/consultant to NASA. I have seen many launches from Vandenberg both from on base viewing sites and off-base sites
.
I like to use a viewing spot up on Figueroa Mtn Rd. There is a good pullout just before the Forest Service Work center driveway that has a great view of the base and you can actually see the ocean on a clear day. You can see the launch tower of SLC 4 & 5 from the Figueroa viewing site and the other launch pads are just below the line of site blocked by the Solomon Hills between Buellton and Lompoc.

There are other viewing sites much closer to Vandenberg but as Alley Kat wrote you cannot see the gantry from any of them.

The reason I like this spot is that it is often above the coastal fog deck and you can see the rocket go far downrange. Is it especially spectacular at night. Usually there are not many people although the road is winding and narrow so drive cautiously as there will be vehicles going up and down (there are some folks who live up there).

If you have a camera with appropriate lens, at night you can do a timed exposure to get a nice wide field of view image with the rocket lifting off and an arc of light going up and down range.

An added bonus for this site is that there is a campground (no water) about a mile or two further up Figueroa Mtn Rd. Be advised however that the campground is now staffed with a host and they charge $20 a night. (priort to last year there was no host at this campground and most people who stayed there did not pay - it is a nice campground but without water it is kind of pricy and not really convenient to other recreation sites in the area.

There are three other campgrounds in the area much further up the road. Two are down Sunset Valley rd to Davey Brown and Nira. Depending on season and number of campers both can be nice places to camp and they both have water but it will take at least a half hour to drive to them from the launch viewing site. There is also one other small campground on the way down to Happy Canyon Rd.

There is (or used to be) one other campground I almost forgot about up past the top of Figuroa Mtn rd. The only time I have been to it the road was not in good shape and there is no water - it is a half mile or so past the picnic area and old watch tower and is downhill to the West from the top of the peak. I have not been up there since the fire a few years ago so not sure it is open for camping anymore or not. In fact the last couple of trips up there I noted that the gate across the dirt road up to the old lookout has been closed and locked.

Figueroa Mtn Rd makes a loop from Los Olivos to Happy Canyon rd that comes out near the intersection of Hwy 246 and Hwy 154 near Santa Ynez. The loop takes a couple of hours to drive. Sunset Valley Rd is a dead end at Nira campground and provides access to trials into the Wilderness area of the Sisquoc River and Manzana creek.

It is possible to boondock on Catway Rd (turnoff just before the road up to Figuroa Mtn lookout.) when the gate in not locked but it has been locked the last couple of trips I have been up there (most recently for the JPSS J1 Satellite launch in December.

By the way: Jalama Beach campground is frequently closed during launches as it is down range and in the event of a launch incident could be a hazardous location (falling debris, corrosive propellants, etc). Also there is no vehicle access to West Camino Cielo between Refugio Rd and Gaviota Pass (101) due to a property owner blocking the road - even to the Forest Service - near the former Reagan Ranch).

I have driven West Camino Cielo both ways between Refugio Rd and San Marcos pass many times over the years and its condition in recent years has been pretty bad but I think it has been repaired as a result of the recent fire fighting activity. There are a few potential viewing sites up there but none as good as Figueroa Mtn in my opinion (the large binocular downrange tracking station is located up off West Camino Cielo however)

The launch viewing site is past the "picnic spot" and just before you get to the Forest Service Ranger Station/Work Center (about where the yellow "... Oak Trees)" is.

Regards,

Craig

 

[ckent323]

The regular Falcon 9 booster is recovered at Sea. So far only the Falcon 9 heavy recovers the two side boosters (a former colleague is the Manufacturing manager for the Falcon 9 heavy).

 

[slash2]

I live in Solvang and was in the Space business for 40 years working for local Santa Barbara Research Center and later as a contractor/consultant to NASA. I have seen many launches from Vandenberg both from on base viewing sites and off-base sites
.
I like to use a viewing spot up on Figueroa Mtn Rd. There is a good pullout just before the Forest Service Work center driveway that has a great view of the base and you can actually see the ocean on a clear day. You can see the launch tower of SLC 4 & 5 from the Figueroa viewing site and the other launch pads are just below the line of site blocked by the Solomon Hills between Buellton and Lompoc.

There are other viewing sites much closer to Vandenberg but as Alley Kat wrote you cannot see the gantry from any of them.

The reason I like this spot is that it is often above the coastal fog deck and you can see the rocket go far downrange. Is it especially spectacular at night. Usually there are not many people although the road is winding and narrow so drive cautiously as there will be vehicles going up and down (there are some folks who live up there).

An added bonus for this site is that there is a campground (no water) about a mile or two further up Figueroa Mtn Rd. Be advised however that the campground is now staffed with a host and they charge $20 a night. (priort to last year there was no host at this campground and most people who stayed there did not pay - it is a nice campground but without water it is kind of pricy and not really convenient to other recreation sites in the area.

There is (or used to be) one other campground I almost forgot about up past the top of Figuroa Mtn rd. The only time I have been to it the road was not in good shape and there is no water - it is a half mile or so past the picnic area and old watch tower and is downhill to the West from the top of the peak. I have not been up there since the fire a few years ago so not sure it is open for camping anymore or not. In fact the last couple of trips up there I noted that the gate across the dirt road up to the old lookout has been closed and locked.

It is possible to boondock on Catway Rd (turnoff just before the road up to Figuroa Mtn lookout.) when the gate in not locked but it has been locked the last couple of trips I have been up there (most recently for the JPSS J1 Satellite launch in December.

The launch viewing site is past the "picnic spot" and just before you get to the Forest Service Ranger Station/Work Center (about where the yellow "... Oak Trees)" is.

Regards,

Craig

You give great info Craig!

In fact, this is the very area I'd focused in on, now I'm pretty sure this is where I'll head. I was planning on heading down south the day before the launch and checking out the Hawks Nest, the abandoned RV park just off of Hwy 1 by the AFB, it's suppose to be a good viewing area, and then from there I was going to drive up to the Figueroa campground, scouting good viewing areas along the way. If I didn't find anything interesting on the the way to the campground I'd just get up early and drive down to the Hawks Nest in the morning.

Now I know right where to look! Thanks!

/2

 

[slash2]

I like to use a viewing spot up on Figueroa Mtn Rd. There is a good pullout just before the Forest Service Work center driveway that has a great view of the base and you can actually see the ocean on a clear day. You can see the launch tower of SLC 4 & 5 from the Figueroa viewing site and the other launch pads are just below the line of site blocked by the Solomon Hills between Buellton and Lompoc.


Regards,

Craig

Someday Street View will probably be so good you won't even have to go there, just sit back in your chair and watch things live from anywhere you want. Yikes!

On the plus side, that would thin out the crowds for those of us willing to continue to enjoy life non virtually

On the minus side, my son already spends too much time indoors!

 

[ETAV8R]

Guess I've never looked at googlemap/earth for that area. Looks like lots of roads out by Point Conception. I'm sure most are locked. Seems there are a lot of potential areas to view a launch from and maybe boondock. Most likely the people in the large homes on the hills don't want us pop-up vagabonds roaming around.

 

[slash2]

Guess I've never looked at googlemap/earth for that area. Looks like lots of roads out by Point Conception. I'm sure most are locked. Seems there are a lot of potential areas to view a launch from and maybe boondock. Most likely the people in the large homes on the hills don't want us pop-up vagabonds roaming around.

A cool thing about Street View is you can often look up a side road a little way and see if it has a gate or not, as is the case in this area, a number of the side roads had gates, once you get into the Forest Service lands most of the gates were open, at the time the images were taken that is....

There are lots of roads out by Point Conception, but none that I looked at had Street View, suggesting they are not public, and all of the roads I looked at leading into the area from public roads that had Street View had gates. I'd assume little or no public access.

/2