Atlas 5 HLV from Cape, not VAFB

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0401/18atlas5slc3e/

Building a new West Coast era for Atlas rockets
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: January 18, 2004
[EXCERPTS]

Today, a month after successfully launching a National
Reconnaissance Office payload on that last Atlas 2AS,
Lockheed Martin has five new Vandenberg missions lined up
for the Atlas 5 beginning in late 2005...

SLC-3E will be outfitted to support both the Atlas 5 400- and
500-series of rockets. Strap-on solid-fuel boosters can be added
to increase the amount of cargo launched, with the 500-series able
to use as many as five solids.

There are no current plans to fly the giant Atlas 5-Heavy
rocket from the West Coast. That vehicle is under development
for launches from the Cape beginning in late 2006.

"We have carefully scrutinized the potential mission manifest
here from Vandenberg for at least the next 10 years and we do
not foresee any needs for the heavy-lift version of the Atlas 5
vehicle from Vandenberg," Sponnick [Lockheed Martin's Atlas
program vice president] said. "The Atlas 5 with up to five
solid rocket boosters provides a very substantial performance
capability here from Vandenberg."

[Lt. Col. Bob] Hodgkiss says one of the five scheduled Vandenberg
launches will be a 500-series vehicle that is distinguished with
the much larger five-meter diameter nose cone; the rest are
400-series rockets with four-meter fairings.