Sen. Feinstein Questions Why Vandenberg Not Shortlisted For Space Command HQ
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – California Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to the Air Force Tuesday asking why Vandenberg Air Force Base is no longer a finalist for the new Space Command headquarters.
Vandenberg AFB, located near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, is used frequently to launch both Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets and unarmed ballistic test missiles.
On Nov. 21, for example, a SpaceX rocket carrying a NASA satellite that will be used to study rising sea levels launched from Vandenberg.
Back in 2019, Vandenberg was selected as one of three finalists for Space Command headquarters. However, after protests that the evaluation process was unfair, the list was scrapped, and a new evaluation process was conducted, resulting in six new finalists announced last month.
Vandenberg AFB was left of the new list.
Instead, selected were Kirtland AFB in New Mexico, Offutt AFB in Nebraska, Patrick AFB in Florida, Peterson AFB in Colorado, Port San Antonio in Texas and Redstone Army Airfield in Alabama.
Feinstein coauthored a letter with Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), in which they asked why Vandenberg was not listed as a finalist the second time around.
"We continue to believe that Vandenberg's existing space-related missions and assets, along with its proximity to the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, would offer Space Command unique and unparalleled advantages," the two politicians wrote. "As the West Coast defense and commercial space launch site, Vandenberg already offers a highly-qualified workforce for aerospace engineering, and the local community is eager to welcome Space Command to the area."
"We also request that you provide precise details about how the evaluation factors and criteria changed between the selection processes in 2019 and 2020," they added.
The Air Force expects to make its decision sometime early next year.
