30th Space Wing The 30th Space Wing ( 30 SW ) is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force . The 30th Space Wing is based at Vandenberg Air Force Base , California . The 30 SW is the Air Force Space Command organization responsible for all Department of Defense space and missile launch activities on the West Coast . All U . S . satellites destined for near polar orbit are launched from Vandenberg . Overview . The wing supports West Coast launch activities for the Air Force , Department of Defense , National Aeronautics and Space Administration , and various private industry contractors . The wing launches a variety of expendable vehicles including the Delta II , Pegasus , Taurus , Atlas , Titan II and Titan IV . The wing also supports Force Development and Evaluation of all intercontinental ballistic missiles . The 30th SW is home to the Western Range and manages Department of Defense space and missile testing , and placing satellites into near - polar orbit from the West Coast , using expendable boosters ( Delta II , Atlas , Titan II and Titan IV . ) Wing personnel also support the Service ' s Minuteman III and Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Follow - on Operational Test and Evaluation Launch program . The Western Range begins at the coastal boundaries of Vandenberg and extends westward from the California coast to the western Pacific including sites in Hawaii . Operations there involve dozens of federal and commercial interests . The Western Range , is operated and maintained by the 30th Range Squadron . It is a vast tracking , telemetry and command complex whose boundary begins along Vandenberg ' s California coastline and extends westward across the Pacific Ocean . The range consists of electronic and optical tracking systems located along the Pacific Coast that collect and process launch - related data for a variety of users . Units . 30th Operations Group ( 30 OG ) 30th Launch Group ( 30 LCG ) 30th Mission Support Group ( 30 MSG ) 30th Medical Group ( 30 MDG ) Additionally , the 30th Comptroller Squadron ( 30 CPTS ) reports directly to the wing commander . History . Components . Groups Aircraft and Missiles . Operations . Upon activation in 1964 the future 30th SW operated and maintained the Western Test Range . The 30th conducted strategic missile test programs , including Minuteman force reliability assessment and Peacekeeper flight development efforts . The Wing maintained launch and support facilities for the Space Shuttle from 1984 – 1987 . It conducted other aerospace systems launching and tracking operations at the California launch site and at several fixed and mobile instrumentation sites in the Pacific . The 30th also provided support personnel to USAF units deployed to Southwest Asia from August 1990 – April 1991 , and to Saudi Arabia on a rotational basis thereafter . Most recently it has also deployed personnel in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom . Delta IV for NRO . On 20 January 2011 , the 30th Space Wing and their commercial partners successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket into space from Vandenberg AFB , Calif . This was the first - ever West Coast launch of the Delta IV Heavy . The 235 - foot - tall launch vehicle , the largest ever fired from the US West Coast , carried a classified US intelligence satellite , USA - 224 , aloft for the a top - secret National Reconnaissance Office .