Remember the Titan: Barring changes to the schedule, the final Titan IV rocket will blast off from its pad at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Wednesday. Carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the 20-story Titan is being replaced by a new breed of rockets developed under the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…