The 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., successfully launched a Boeing Delta IV Medium rocket, boosting a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite into orbit early Friday morning. Liftoff took place at 5:53 a.m. PST, with the DMSP-17 spacecraft deployed 18 minutes later, states a Boeing news release. The launch was the third for Boeing’s Medium configuration of the Delta IV evolved expendable launch vehicle.
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.