Vandenberg Space Force Base opens new public museum at site of former Marshallia Ranch Golf Course

VANDENBERG SFB, Calif. - Vandenberg Space Force Base held a ribbon cutting Tuesday afternoon to mark the opening of its newly relocated Space and Missile Technology Center (SAMTEC) at the site of the former Marshallia Ranch Golf Course.

The base describes the facility as a place that preserves and interprets the evolution of missile and space system activity at Vandenberg Space Force Base from the 1958 to present day.

"SAMTEC is a collection of of the pieces that tell Vandenberg story, past, present and future, to inspire the next generation of guardians and airmen and and community members to be a part of our aerospace community here on the Central Coast," said SAMTEC Director Jay Prichard. "It's also for STEM education training here on the base and also mission partners so that they can share the story and have a place that their companies, their employees and contributors can see and touch the story that is being launched from here. It's a collective of everything that we do here at Vandenberg."

The new center will replace an existing facility that has been established for many years within the gates of Vandenberg Space Force Base.

"This is SAMTEC 2.0 if you will," said Prichard. "Many of the exhibits from the original location are being transferred over to here, as well as some hardware that we've had in storage that did not have an opportunity to be displayed. Over the course of the last 30 years as we've declassified different programs, we've found opportunities to have new stories to tell. We now have a greater space to be able to do that and evolve to the next generation. The big key is that museums are about inspiring, not just collecting."

Now in its new location, the new center will allow for easier access and availability for the community to visit since it is no longer situated inside the main gate.

"When I got here about two years ago and was talking with Jay not long after I took command, and he got to talking to me about his vision of trying to make this facility more accessible," said Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 Commander. "We wanted to take that opportunity, and this former golf course area, this clubhouse was land and facilities that were we already owned, that we already had they were in hand, so why not update them and repurpose them? It will help educate and help to build outreach and help to inspire."  

The Space and Missile Technology Center will include a museum that is located with the former clubhouse for the Marshallia Ranch Golf Course.

Once a well-known and popular golf course for 58 years, Marshallia Ranch closed in 2017 due to rising operational costs, particularly with water usage.

Now, the course will have a second life as a new public attraction that will include other future attractions besides the museum, including launch viewing facilities, STEM outreach programs, walking trails and more.

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