Vandenberg Air Force Base present . Today, Vandenberg stands as the third-largest Air Force base after Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and Edwards Air Force Base in California. On 4 October 1958, Cooke AFB was renamed Vandenberg AFB, in honor of General Vandenberg, the Air Force's second Chief of Staff. The transition from Army camp to missile base solidified on 15 December 1958 when Vandenberg AFB successfully launched its first missile, a PGM-17 Thor IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) The launch from Vandenberg inaugurated the intermediate-range ballistic missile portion of the Pacific Missile Range and was fired by a crew from the 1st
Edwards Air Force Base in 1946 by the Power Plant Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It was that decision that such a facility should be government-owned to prevent a single contractor exclusive advantages on Air Force contracts for high-thrust missile rocket power plants, and it would eliminate duplication of like facilities by different manufacturers. The choice of location in 1947 was the Leuhman Ridge east of Rogers Dry Lake on Edwards AFB. Construction began in November 1949 on what was to become the Experimental Rocket Engine Test Station. Jurisdiction of Edwards AFB was transferred from Air Materiel Command on 2 April 1951 to