<p>The US Space Force said on Monday that Elon Musk's SpaceX was granted approval to lease a second rocket launch complex at a military base in California, setting the space company up for its fifth launch site in the United States.</p>.<p>Under the lease, SpaceX will launch its workhorse Falcon rockets from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a military launch site north of Los Angeles where the space company operates another launchpad. It has two others in Florida and its private Starbase site in south Texas.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/giant-spacex-rocket-leaves-crater-serious-damage-at-texas-base-1212483.html" target="_blank">Giant SpaceX rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas base</a></strong></p>.<p>A Monday night Space Force statement said a letter of support for the decision was signed on Friday by Space Launch Delta 30 commander Colonel Rob Long. The statement did not mention the duration of SpaceX's lease.</p>.<p>The new launch site, vacated last year by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance, gives SpaceX more room to handle an increasingly busy launch schedule for commercial, government and internal satellite launches.</p>.<p>Vandenberg Space Force Base allows for launches in a southern trajectory over the Pacific Ocean, which is often used for weather monitoring, military or spy satellites that commonly rely on polar Earth orbits.</p>.<p>SpaceX's grant of Space Launch Complex-6 comes as rocket companies prepare to compete for the Pentagon's Phase 3 National Security Space Launch program, a watershed military launch procurement effort expected to begin in the next year or so. </p>
<p>The US Space Force said on Monday that Elon Musk's SpaceX was granted approval to lease a second rocket launch complex at a military base in California, setting the space company up for its fifth launch site in the United States.</p>.<p>Under the lease, SpaceX will launch its workhorse Falcon rockets from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a military launch site north of Los Angeles where the space company operates another launchpad. It has two others in Florida and its private Starbase site in south Texas.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/giant-spacex-rocket-leaves-crater-serious-damage-at-texas-base-1212483.html" target="_blank">Giant SpaceX rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas base</a></strong></p>.<p>A Monday night Space Force statement said a letter of support for the decision was signed on Friday by Space Launch Delta 30 commander Colonel Rob Long. The statement did not mention the duration of SpaceX's lease.</p>.<p>The new launch site, vacated last year by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance, gives SpaceX more room to handle an increasingly busy launch schedule for commercial, government and internal satellite launches.</p>.<p>Vandenberg Space Force Base allows for launches in a southern trajectory over the Pacific Ocean, which is often used for weather monitoring, military or spy satellites that commonly rely on polar Earth orbits.</p>.<p>SpaceX's grant of Space Launch Complex-6 comes as rocket companies prepare to compete for the Pentagon's Phase 3 National Security Space Launch program, a watershed military launch procurement effort expected to begin in the next year or so. </p>