Well, “the reflex”-ive answer is “Nowhere, of course!!” But what does happen to space launch facilities once a program goes away? Maybe some people “save a prayer” for them,” but in most of the modern world, facilities tend to be reused. Space launch complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is a good example of this. First it was used for Titan launches, then the space shuttle (never launched there though), Athena rocket launches, and currently, Delta IV launches. A cursory history of SLC-6 can be read about here.
But what if the facilities belonged to Soviet-type space programs? This io9 re-post gives you “something you should know” by sharing pictures of decaying facilities from the failed Buran Soviet shuttle program.
But it does give me ideas for a possible new “Mad Max” movie. Maybe “Mad Max: the Buran Rave Oligarchy” (the BRO, for you denser readers) with “girls on film” such as Lady GaGa, who leads of a pack of drunk demented Soviet engineers (the “wild boys”). They “don’t want your love,” but instead are trying to enslave the world with an as yet to be launched satellite broadcasting Soviet dub-step (called Sovbrostep) on an undiscovered and irresistible frequency. Old Mad Max, reading GaGa’s thoughts “What Women Want”-style, figures out that “all she wants is” to be loved, and kills her and her wild boys with the flames of an old Buran somehow undiscovered until he arrived there.
Hmmm….and no, I don’t regret my terrible wordplay using pop-culture one bit. But you might find the io9 post more interesting anyway.
The Mad Spaceball 