A Delta IV rocket launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Tuesday, successfully boosting a National Reconnaissance Office satellite into orbit. Boeing officials say that the launch of the company’s Delta IV marks the first West Coast mission completed for the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. It was also the first time the NRO has used the new Delta IV EELV. The next Delta IV launch from Vandenberg is planned for late 2006.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.