Clear View Expected for Missile Launch
County residents who look to the northwest sky this morning should be able to view the first Titan II missile launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in three years.
The expendable booster will be carrying a military weather satellite into polar orbit for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For more than three decades, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program has provided weather data to the Department of Defense.
Today’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch marks the first time a Titan II missile will be used to put such a satellite into orbit, officials said.
The launch from the base was postponed Wednesday because of a failed electronic component.
National Weather Service officials say the sky should be clear during the launch window--from 8:47 to 9:02 a.m.
Vandenberg has launched more than 1,700 missiles and space boosters since 1958. The last time a Titan II missile was launched from the base in Lompoc was January 1994.
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