[Launch Alert] Successful Launch

[kd6nrp at earthlink.net]

VANDENBERG SUPPORTS SUCCESSFUL MISSILE DEFENSE EXERCISE AND FLIGHT TEST

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A Missile Defense Agency (MDA) interceptor missile successfully launched at 1:16 p.m. today from North Vandenberg.  The launch was part of an exercise and flight test involving the intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile by a ground-based interceptor missile designed to protect the United States against a limited long-range ballistic missile attack.

For this exercise, a threat-representative target missile was launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak, Alaska.  Approximately 20 minutes later, an operationally-configured interceptor missile was launched from the Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site here. 
 
“This launch was a huge mission success for Vandenberg and involved the continuous efforts of every organization on base,” said Col. Steve Tanous, 30th Space Wing commander and spacelift commander for today’s launch.  “The 30th Space Wing, along with MDA and the rest of our mission partners here at Vandenberg, performed flawlessly in executing a launch that will make direct and long-lasting contributions to our national security.”

Program officials will evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test.