T-0 was at 1:01am PDT and this photo was shot with a Canon 20D at 55mm
focal length.
The streak upper left to right is an aircraft.
VANDENBERG
AIR
FORCE BASE,
Testing the
reliability and accuracy of the Minuteman
III weapon system, the launch was a team effort by members of the 30th
Space
Wing and the 576th Flight Test Squadron here and the 91st Space Wing
from Minot
AFB, N.D. The launch was executed through 20th Air Force’s
Airborne
Launch Control System aboard a U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft under
the
direction of the 576th FLTS. Capt. Rasheem Wright, 576th FLTS,
was the
launch director.
The mission
director was Lt. Col. S. L. Davis,
576th FLTS commander. Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing
commander, was
the spacelift commander or final “go for launch” authority.
“I’ve long
said that complete mission
success is our standard, not our goal,” Colonel Weinstein said.
“Tonight
these men and women proved once again they have what it takes to get
the job
done. They worked together flawlessly, incorporating our Navy
counterparts,
and ensuring 100 percent mission success in our fourth and final
Minuteman III
launch of the year.”
To collect
test data and meet safety requirements,
members of the 576th FLTS performed pre-launch maintenance activities
including
missile emplacement and installation of unique missile tracking,
telemetry and
command destruct systems.
“This launch
caps off an extremely busy
year for the squadron,” Colonel Davis said. “While some early
anomalies complicated our testing efforts, hard work and determination
allowed
us to accomplish our mission. Unlike others, our mission is not
to launch,
it's to test. As the Air Force's only ICBM test squadron we must
correctly
assess both the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon
system. We have
done just that.”
“Both
maintainers and operators assigned to
the 576th FLTS continue to prove they are
Leading Colonel Davis’s higher headquarters unit, Col. John Riordan, 595th Space Group commander, echoed the mission director’s comments.
“Executing the Operational Test Launch mission is challenging work,” Colonel Riordan said, “especially when you launch four ICBMs in under two months. This was an impressive job by the military and civilian members of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, the 595th Space Group and the remarkable team of contractors who support us. In addition, we could not conduct this nationally important mission without the exceptional support we receive from the 30th Space Wing and many other organizations associated with the execution of the ICBM flight test program. The 576th Flight Test Squadron is always testing to support the warfighter’s mission.”
The
missile’s single unarmed re-entry vehicle
traveled approximately 4,200 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting a
pre-determined
target at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the
western
chain of the
Designated
Glory Trip-189GM, this operational
test launch continues a long history of Western Range launches used to
verify,
validate and improve the capability of the nation’s ICBM force--a key
component to continued global stability.
Minuteman III launches from Vandenberg AFB on
09-07-2005
Minuteman II
Launch from Vandenberg AFB 10-14-2002
Minuteman III launch test
on 09-19-2002
Minuteman II launch Intercept test on 03-15-2002
Minuteman II launch Intercept test on 07-14-2001
Minuteman II launch on 07-07-2002