arrival of the fourth and final segment of the fixed launch platform (FLP). The segments had been transported from a fabrication facility in Oak Hill, FL, away. The largest segment weighed 90 tons and was "thought to be the biggest over-the-road shipment ever attempted cross-country." In February 2005, the activation team handed over the launch pad to the operational team, marking the end of major reconstruction. The first Atlas V launch from SLC-3E took place at 10:02 GMT on March 13, 2008. United Launch Alliance (ULA) inherited the pad in December 2006 when the company was formed as the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and continued to use it to fly Atlas V rockets. In October 2015 ULA announced that the pad would be updated to accommodate the upcoming Vulcan rocket, with the pad then being able to launch either Atlas V or Vulcan. The final Atlas V launch from the pad took place on 10 November 2022, carrying the JPSS-2 satellite. The first flight of Vulcan from SLC-3E is anticipated to be in 2023. Launch history (3E) SLC-3W SLC-3W was originally built for Atlas-Agena launches and the first flight off the pad was the launch of Samos 1 on October 11, 1960. The facility was extensively damaged 11 months later when Samos 3's booster exploded on the pad, but it was repaired quickly and hosted its next launch slightly under two months afterwards. In 1962-63, the pad was converted for Thor-Agena use and was the primary launching site for Corona reconnaissance satellites for the next decade. After the Corona program ended in 1972, SLC-3W was converted back to support Atlases, this time flights of refurbished Atlas E/F missiles. The final such launch took place in 1995. SpaceX initially planned to use SLC-3W for the Falcon 1 launch vehicle but switched to SLC-4E with Falcon 9. Launch history (3W) See also References External links Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation, filed under Napa and Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA: Vandenberg Space Force Base Launch complexes of the United States Space Force Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Historic American Engineering Record in California 1960 establishments in California