Air Force base wildfire postpones hi-res satellite launch

The WorldView-4 satellite was originally scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Friday (Sept. 16).

Almost 800 firefighters were trying to corral the fire that was almost 2 square miles in size.

Civil engineers worked on Sunday to restore power in a remote canyon on the base, according to the base.

Wayne Seda, incident commander from the Vandenberg Air Force Base Fire Department, said there is no estimated containment date, and the cause of the fire is undetermined.

The Air Force has further restricted public access to the site as crews worked to cut new fire lines and douse spot fires. But he said the blaze required firefighters to be redeployed from standing by at the launch of the imaging satellite. “The fire grew rapidly”.

Zaniboni said fire officials have requested additional help to fight the fire.

There are no restrictions on North Base activities, and personnel working in that area should report for duty using normal procedures. The satellite is created to produce high-resolution images of Earth from space.

Col. Paul Nosek said in a statement that the flames are not threatening space launch complexes or other “critical range assets” at the 155-square-mile base, the third largest U.S. Air Force base in the nation.

The United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space and Security, plans to launch the rocket from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 3.

This story will be updated as soon as additional information becomes available.