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The final distinctive features of the launch pad are three massive flame ducts, each 50 ft. high and 70 ft. wide, that will vent the tremendous energy released during lift-offs. Seven seconds before takeoff, an underground pipe 10 ft. in diameter will flood the ducts in less than 30 seconds with about half a million gallons of water. The water will be stored in two tanks. The 6,000° F heat produced by the shuttle will be tamed by the liquid, generating huge billows of steam from the ducts during and after the launch. At Cape Canaveral, the vents are lined with firebrick; at Vandenberg, they are made from approximately 130,000 cu. yds. of solid concrete. A special vacuuming process was applied to the concrete while it was setting. This sucked out air and moisture quickly, resulting in a nonporous surface that will better resist cracking during blastoff.
Slick Six's inaugural launch in October 1985 will employ the newest shuttle, Discovery, now being checked out at Cape Canaveral. The exact mission will be top secret, as will all shuttle flights from Air Force-run Vandenberg, but it has been reported that the main job on that first flight will be to ferry two satellites into space. Since Discovery will be placed in a polar orbit, its ground track will cover the Soviet Union. One of those satellites could be a new hush-hush communications package, and the other a device equipped with infrared sensors to spot Soviet missile launches. —ByAnastasia Toufexis. Reported by William R. Doerner/Vandenberg Air Force Base
*"Vandenberg has also been the takeoff point for such missiles as the Minuteman and Trident. SLC 6 will be the sixth active launch pad at the base.