[Launch Alert] Launch Follow-Up

[Brian Webb]

                            LAUNCH ALERT

			           Brian Webb
		         Ventura County, California
		         E-mail: kd6nrp at earthlink.net
	          Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

				               2006 April 9 (Sunday) 08:09 PDT
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                          LAUNCH FOLLOW-UP

Technical issues caused a three hour delay of last Friday's Minuteman
III launch from Vandenberg AFB. Lift-off was originally scheduled for
03:03 PDT, but did not happen until 06:00.

The delay made for an interesting display as the missile's third stage
exhaust plume was illuminated by the Sun and suspended against the
dawn sky. A photo of the launch is posted at www.spacearchive.info.

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                  VANDENBERG LAUNCHES MINUTEMAN III
                       Vandenberg AFB News Release
                            2006 April 7

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from North Vandenberg
today at 6 a.m.

The launch was part of a developmental test to demonstrate the weapon
system’s effectiveness in a stressed environment on extended range.

The missile's single unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled approximately
5,100 miles, hitting a pre-determined water target near Guam in the
Northern Mariana Islands.

Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing commander, was the spacelift
commander. Lt. Col. S.L. Davis, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander,
was the mission director for this launch. "This test launch evaluated
the reliability and accuracy of the operational Minuteman III ICBM
force in order to ensure the weapon system maintains the capability to
deter, and if necessary, defeat our nation’s potential adversaries,"
Colonel Davis said. "This is critically important as the MM III is the
only remaining ICBM and forms the basis of our nuclear deterrence
through its ability to instantly respond when directed by the
President."

The data collected will be used by the entire ICBM community,
including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.

The reliability and accuracy data will also be used by United States
Strategic Command planners. "The mission of Vandenberg Air Force Base
is first and foremost launch operations," said Colonel Weinstein. "We
take tremendous pride in that mission and nobody does it better."

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