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Vandenberg fires Minuteman test rocket

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MCK2000011902 - 19 JANUARY 2000 - MECK ISLAND, MARSHALL ISLANDS, USA: .A payload launch vehicle carrying a prototype interceptor is launched from Meck Island in the Kwajalein Missile Range on Jan. 18, 2000, for a planned intercept of a ballistic missile target over the central Pacific Ocean. The target vehicle, a modified Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 6:19 p.m., PST, and the vehicle carrying the prototype interceptor was launched about 20 minutes later. The intercept was not achieved. The test was performed by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's National Missile Defense Joint Program Office. Defense and industry program officials will conduct an extensive review of the test results to determine the reason for not achieving an intercept. RW/DOD 
Published: June 29, 2009 at 2:17 PM

LOMPOC, Calif., June 29 (UPI) -- An unarmed Minuteman missile test-fired Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California reached its target in the Marshall Islands, base officials said.

The test was the first of three Minuteman tests planned for this year.

The missile, with three unarmed re-entry vehicles, traveled 4,190 miles at speeds in excess of 24,000 mph to reach targets in the Kwajalein Atoll, said Col. David Buck, commander of the 30th Space Wing.

Members from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., assisted with maintenance tasks preceding the launch.

"It's really something when you see a truly outstanding team come together," Buck said in a release from the base. "I couldn't think of a better team to demonstrate the awesome capability of our (intercontinental ballistic missile) fleet."

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